USPS Forever Stamps Hanukkah - sheet of 20 stamps - gold background, menorah - Scott 4824

Also spelled Chanukkah, Chanukah, Hanukah. The Hanukkah stamp art is a photograph of a contemporary forged-iron menorah created by blacksmith Steven Bronstein of Marshfield, VT. Nine lighted white beeswax candles top each of the branches. “Hanukkah” (the Hebrew word for “dedication”) is spelled out across the top of the stamp in yellow letters. Art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, designed the stamp. George E. Brown of Alexandria, VA, was the photographer. Celebrated by Jews around the world, Hanukkah, the joyous Festival of Lights, spans eight nights and days of remembrance and ritual. The holiday commemorates the victory of the Jews, led by Judah Maccabee, over the armies of Antiochus IV and the Seleucid Empire in 165 B.C.E. Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for “dedication.” Tradition relates how a miracle took place during the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, which had been desecrated. The sacramental oil, thought to be enough for only one day, burned for eight days. The miracle of the oil is at the heart of the ritual of the lighting of the hanukiah, a menorah — candelabra — with nine branches, one for each of the eight nights and days of Hanukkah, and the ninth, the shamash or “the servant,” used to light the other candles. The hanukiah, used only at Hanukkah, is traditionally placed in the window of the home to proclaim the miracle to passersby. The eight nights and days of Hanukkah begin on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, a date that falls in late November or December. This listing is for ONE sheet of 20 stamps.

• Sheet of 20 Hanukkah Forever Stamps
• Also spelled Chanukkah, Chanukah, Hanukah.
• Perfect for holiday mailings, gifts & more.
• Forever stamps will also be equal to the one-ounce first class rate