About This Stamp
Celebrate the joyous Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with this stamp from the U.S. Postal Service® and Israel Post.
Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century B.C. after it had been re-conquered from armies that desecrated the sanctuary. Tradition relates that during the rededication of the Temple—Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for "dedication”—the sacramental oil needed to light the lamps was enough to burn for only one day; miraculously, it burned for eight days until new oil could be pressed. This miracle is celebrated during Hanukkah with the ritual lighting of the hanukiah, the nine-branched menorah used during Hanukkah. Eight branches hold candles representing each of the eight nights and days of Hanukkah; the ninth, the shamash or “servant,” is used to light the other candles.
The stamp art features a Hanukkah menorah created using the techniques of the old Jewish folk art of papercutting. Artist Tamar Fishman made a pencil sketch of the design and then with a fine blade, cut the two-dimensional image on white paper. She chose blue-purple and green papers for the background to highlight the central design. Behind the menorah is a shape reminiscent of an ancient oil jug that represents the heart of the Hanukkah miracle. Additional design elements include dreidels — a spinning top used to play a children’s game during the holiday — and a pomegranate plant with fruit and flowers.
Hanukkah is a family-centered holiday, with celebrations taking place in people’s homes. Games, songs, gifts, and food all contribute to making the holiday festive and fun for family and friends.
Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, a date that falls in late November or December. In 2018, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 2.
Art director Ethel Kessler was the designer. Tamar Fishman created the original art for the stamp.
Hanukkah (2018) was issued as a Forever® stamp. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Designer, and Typographer
Ethel Kessler
Ethel Kessler is an award-winning designer and art director who has worked with corporations, museums, public and private institutions, professional service organizations, and now, the United States Postal Service.
After earning a B.F.A. in visual communications from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Kessler worked as a graphic designer and project manager for the exhibits division of the United States Information Agency. Her work was distributed internationally on subjects such as Immigration, Entrepreneurship, Renovation of American Cities, and the Bicentennial of 1976. She was also responsible for exhibits in Morocco, Botswana, and El Salvador.
In 1981, she established Kessler Design, Inc., for which she is creative director and designer. Clients have included the Clinton Government reorganization, the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Television, the National Park Service, and the American Institute of Architects.
She has been an art director for the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp development program for more than 25 years. As an art director for USPS, Kessler has been responsible for creating more than 500 stamp designs, including the Breast Cancer Research stamp illustrated by Whitney Sherman. Issued in 1998, the stamp is still on sale and has raised more $98 million for breast cancer research. Other Kessler projects include the popular and highly regarded Nature of America 120 stamp series, a collaboration with nationally acclaimed nature illustrator John Dawson, the 12-year Lunar New Year series with Kam Mak, the American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes 10 stamps issued in 2003, a 2016 pane of stamps celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the 2023 stamp honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And many, many others.
Stamp Artist
Tamar Fishman
Tamar Fishman’s artistry celebrates the heritage of the Jewish people – life-cycle events, holiday festivals, a love for Israel, and a passion for the Hebrew language. She specializes in the art of the papercut, inspired by a centuries-old folk tradition in the Jewish communities of Europe and North Africa.
Each of Fishman’s works integrates Jewish tradition and culture with the distinctive interests of her clientele. Her most popular pieces are personalized Jewish wedding contracts, known as ketubot. She has also designed artistic installations at synagogues and Jewish centers in the Greater Washington area and elsewhere. Her original papercuts are held in private collections around the world.
One exception to her principal speciality was the design of a papercut with distinctive American themes, commissioned by the U. S. Department of State as a diplomatic gift from President Ronald Reagan to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on the occasion of his state visit in 1981.
Her design for the 2018 Hanukkah stamp is a welcome application of her expertise to this unique art form. This is Fishman’s first project for the U.S. Postal Service®.