Canada Post Community Foundation.

In 2008, Canada Post established The Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health to provide financial support for deserving front-line charities and not for profit organizations. The funds raised to make these gifts possible were the result of the generous donations of Canada Post staff and customers at our retail outlets—as well as the surcharge from our Mental Health semi-postal stamps. To date, more than $6.7 million in grants have been distributed to some 140 organizations across Canada.

This year, Canada Post will build on our long and proud history of investing in the communities we serve through our charitable and volunteer activities—and transfer our efforts from mental health issues to children’s charities.

According to Cindy Daoust, Manager of Canada Post’s Community Investment Program, “Our efforts have provided funding and support for a wide variety of important initiatives in the area of mental health, literacy and the United Way. We’ve raised funds and awareness. We also want to build on the incredible efforts of employees who support the Santa Letter-writing Program every year. So our plans are to continue our involvement with children throughout the calendar year.”

The renamed Canada Post Community Foundation will focus on supporting children’s charities, school programs and local initiatives—including organizations that provide mental health initiatives aimed at youth. Canada Post hopes to develop an engaging and compelling connection with children’s causes in the communities where postal employees work—which is almost every community in the nation.

As the Corporation’s charitable focus shifts to youth, so does the inspiration for the annual fundraising semi-postal. This year’s stamp, designed by Debbie Adams, Principal at Adams + Associates, carries a 10-cent surcharge that goes directly to the work of the Foundation. According to Adams, “The design is a simple circle of children’s hands, depicted in vivid colours. Multi-coloured hands represent the diversity and breadth of the need to help children’s charities. The heart represents the generosity of Canadians investing in the future of Canada.” Not only does this call to mind childhood circle games, it also implies inclusivity, and giving a hand or holding a hand in assistance

According to Stamp Design Manager Liz Wong, “The focus on children and programs at the community level means the stamp design must be appealing—and accessible—to all Canadians. The beauty of using child imagery that it not only represents the causes we’ll be supporting, but also encourages nostalgia in adults, thoughts of a simpler time—and the wish for everyone to have a great childhood.”



Canada Post commemorates Canadian Titanic ties with stamps.

Canada Post has unveiled the images of the five stamps that will be issued on April 5 to mark the centennial of the sinking of RMS Titanic. The collection, created by Haligonian design team of Dennis Page and Oliver Hill, showcases the best-known ship in the world with depth and realism and adds some poignant Canadian attributes.

Creating a detailed image of a ship that has been under water for a century presented a wonderful challenge for Halifax-based designer Dennis Page. “This was the biggest man-made moving object on earth that after setting off on her maiden voyage hit an iceberg and ended in disaster. That really stuck with me and how I was going to show that feeling.” Page basically put himself in the moment. “I imagined myself standing below her bow looking up which really gives that vantage point and perspective at how vast something like this could be.”

Through this stamp collection Canada Post takes pride in respectfully marking an event in which so many lost their lives, and honouring the countless Canadians who helped in the recovery mission. “This is really our way of paying tribute to the Canadians involved,” says Mary Traversy, Canada Post’s Senior Vice-President of Mail. “With these stamps, we hope to preserve the legacy of the Canadians whose lives were deeply touched when Titanic sank off our coast.”

Flora (Flowers - General)

Wild yellow or orange daylilies growing in ditches and along fences are a familiar sight to families heading off to cottage country. Sincethe early 1930s, the daylily has been hybridized by gardening enthusiasts and professional horti-culturalists, and this beautiful, hardy perennial can now be found in a rainbow of colours and an array of shapes across the country.

The Daylily (Hemerocallis) was long placed in the Lily family (Liliaceae), but is now considered to belong in the plant family Hemerocallidaceae.

This term, from the Greek words meaning “beauty” and “day,” alludes to the fact that each flower lasts for just one day.

Since there are many flower buds on each flower stalk and many stalks in each cluster, the overall flowering period is usually several weeks long.

The flowers of most species open at sunrise and wither atsunset, often replaced by another on the same stalkthe next day.

Although not commonly used for arrangements, daylilies make good cut flowers, as new blossoms continue to open over several days.

Originally, daylilies could be found only in yellow, orange, and reddish-brown.

Today, colours range from near-white, to yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, blue and more.

While the roadside yellow or orange daylilies—known to hybridizers as Hemerocallis fulva (or Hemerocallis fulva Europa)—are forms of the cultivated types that ‘escaped’ and now grow wild, all modern daylilies have evolved through a complicated history of hybridization.

The photos for the Daylilies stamps were taken at Ottawa’s Experimental Farm, where all the Canadian hybrids grow together in one area.

“I always try to get early morning and late afternoon shots, when the lighting allows for lots of contrast and detail,” says Isabelle Toussaint, photographer and designer for the long-running series.

 “Although the sun was shining for both sessions, the light was completely different for each, and I was able to get many great shots.”

“We wanted to be sure to show a daylily that Canadians would recognize, so we decided to use the common orange ones,” says Danielle Trottier, Stamp Design manager.

“The purple daylily, which has been identified as “Louis Lorrain,” was chosen not only because it was a bit more exotic but also contrasted so beautifully with the orange.”

The third variety, shown on the souvenir sheet is known as the “JeffHolden.”

Two exquisite daylilies grace the seventh issue in Canada Post’s beloved flower series.

The Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment stamp from Canada.

Canada Post issued a stamp to commemorate the 150th anniversary of foundation of The Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment (PWOR).

The Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment (PWOR), was formed in January 1863, from seven existing militia companies in Kingston, Ontario.

 It earned its name when the Regiment participated in celebrations for the marriage of His Royal Highness Edward, Prince of Wales.

 The name, made official in 1868, honoured the new Princess of Wales, formerly Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Since its foundation, members of the PWOR have served in every major conflict involving the Canadian Forces, including the First and the Second World War.

The Regiment’s crest features the motto, Nunquam Cede (Never Surrender), accompanied by the phrase Ich Dien (I Serve) and the Regiment’s initials, PWOR.

The crown and feathers allude to the Regiment’s name, while the beaver represents service to Canada.

As StampNews.com found out from the Canada Post official website, the most important design element for the PWOR stamp designer Dave Sasha was the soldiers themselves.

The Regiments - The Black Watch

The Regiments - The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry

The Regiments - The Royal Regiment of Canada

 

Special postal tributes celebrate iconic Canadians as part of Black History Month.

Canada Post has issued two stamps in celebration of Black History Month, highlighting the experiences and accomplishments of two remarkable Canadians: Viola Desmond and John Ware.

The stamp designs combine a collage of historic elements used to give dimension to the lives of Desmond and Ware.

A flattering portrait of Desmond is the central focus, with a photo of the famous New Glasgow Roseland theatre and her posthumous pardon granted in 2010 as silhouettes of significance.

Ware’s life as a cowboy shines through with a rich portrait surrounded by icons of his life in the west including a photo of his ranch, a lasso, and a horse.

Lunar New Year: year of the Snake stamp from Canada.

The Year of the Snake, in this case a water snake, slithers in on February 10, 2013, and bids farewell on January 30, 2014.

The sixth of 12 creatures in the zodiac, the Snake represents intelligence, materialism and gracefulness.

A cover from Canada, Sent by Maryam Muhammad.

 Very Chinese style.

The duo stamp issue (Domestic and International) by Canada Post for the Year of the Snake is created in lavish textures befitting the luxury-loving Snake.

On the domestic stamp, a red snake slithers on curving waves, symbolizing the water influence on this particular Year of the Snake.

On the international stamp, a yellow and green jade snake, artfully embossed on multiple levels to provide three-dimensionality and simulate scales, coils into a stylized 8, the luckiest and most valued number by the Chinese people.

Both images visually draw on the most significant character attributes of the Year of the Snake.

Greetings from all over the world are flying to the small village of Christmas Island to get a special postmark.

“Every year, thousands of people take the time to send me their greeting cards to get the special postmark before they get delivered,” says postmistress MacKinnon who can stamp almost 2,000 greeting cards a day during the peak holiday season. “I’m always excited to find out from which country I’ll receive the first letter. With cards coming from as far as Japan or Australia, you realize that people are willing to make extra efforts to make their greeting cards unique for their loved ones, making my work even more meaningful.”

For more than 17 years at this time of year, the Christmas Island post office has been getting almost as busy as Santa’s workshop. The amount of mail received at the office jumps almost 1,000% between October and December. The thousands of letters from around the world come from collectors and holiday enthusiasts anxious to get the official postmark from Christmas Island.

For those interested in having holiday cards postmarked, please address and place the correct postage (or international reply coupon) on the actual greeting card, insert card into a larger envelope and send to:

8499 GRAND NARROWS HWY

CHRISTMAS ISLAND NS B1T 1A0

 Featuring festive shapes and on the domestic, iconic gingerbread people, the images on the stamps are so realistic, you can almost smell the ginger and nutmeg—and taste the creamy sweet icing.

Food—especially wonderfully decorated savory delights or sweet treats—are a traditional part of celebration around the world. And whether you’re a fan of the festive season or a total bah-humbugger—it’s almost impossible to resist the temptation of fragrant and warm-from-the-oven Christmas cookies. That’s why we think our 2012 Christmas stamps will be irresistible. (But they’re self-adhesive—so quell the urge to lick them!)

It was her hope to inspire some happy childhood memories with stamps that are a tasty reminder of the pleasures practicing the tradition of baking and lovingly decorating holiday cookies and leaving a late night snack for Santa on Christmas Eve.

According to Stamp Design Manager Alain Leduc, “The simplicity of the well-known cookie images looks fresh and so appealing on the white background. Again, we try to explore symbols for the Christmas stamps that are familiar and have wide appeal—and I think we’ve definitely succeeded with these cookies.”

Royal originsOriginating with the Egyptians and Greeks, gingerbread’s ties to the holidays can be traced back to pre-Christian celebrations of the winter solstice, when small spicy cakes, marked with symbols of the sun were part of the yule feast. Gingerbread arrived in Europe courtesy of the crusaders, who brought then rare ginger back from the Middle East. As the spice became more common and affordable, an early European recipe that called for ground almonds, stale breadcrumbs, rosewater, sugar and ginger became popular. In the 16th century, English bakers replaced the breadcrumbs with flour, and added eggs and sweeteners, resulting in a lighter, tastier treat.

The first gingerbread man is credited to Queen Elizabeth I, who impressed dignitaries by presenting them with cookies in their own likeness. Today, in towns and cities across the country, the best local bakers compete to create award-winning gingerbread homes—more aptly in many cases, cookie mansions—that use gum drops, jelly beans and other candies, coloured icings, nuts and other edible goodies as decorations.

Gingerbread Cookies 250 ml (1 cup) molasses
250 ml (1 cup) golden yellow sugar
15 ml (1 tbsp) ground cinnamon
15 ml (1 tbsp) ground ginger
5 ml (1 tsp) ground cloves
5 ml (1 tsp) ground nutmeg
5 ml (1 tsp) baking soda
250 ml (1 cup) butter (softened)
2 eggs (room temperature)
1,000 ml (4 cups) all-purpose flour

1. In a saucepan, dissolve the molasses, sugar and spices over low heat. Let simmer 20 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and add the baking soda. (Be careful: The mix will rise and could overflow.)
Let stand 10 minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl, at low speed, add the molasses-spice mix a little at a time to the butter.
4. Add the eggs one by one and continue mixing.
5. Add the flour all at once with the mixer at low speed.
6. Beat batter until smooth, then separate into two balls and refrigerate for approx. 2 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 0.25 cm thick and cut into shapes using floured cookie cutters.
8. Bake for approximately 10 minutes on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.
9. Let cool on the cookie sheet.

Once cookies have cooled, they can be decorated with icing and your favourite candies.

Sent from Canada First Day Entire Cover

Thanks Maryam Muhammad Irwan