About This Stamp
In 2022, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the joyous Jewish holiday of Hanukkah with a stamp.
The stamp art features an original wall-hanging. The fiber art was hand-dyed, appliquéd, and quilted to form an abstract image of a hanukiah, the nine-branch candelabra used only at Hanukkah. The blue and purple fabrics represent the sky, and the greens and browns represent the earth. The bright yellows and oranges represent the Festival of Lights, as Hanukkah is also known.
Hanukkah means “dedication” in Hebrew. The story of Hanukkah begins with the victory of the Maccabees, an army of Jewish fighters, over the forces of the Hellenic emperor Antiochus IV, whose supporters had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by building an altar to the Greek god Zeus. After reclaiming the Temple and preparing to rededicate the holy space, the worshippers discovered that only one small jar of consecrated oil remained, enough to last one day. Rather than wait for more oil to arrive, they re-lit the Temple menorah, which miraculously burned for eight days.
The miracle of the oil is celebrated during Hanukkah with the ceremonial lighting of the hanukiah. The hanukiah holds eight candles, one for each night of Hanukkah, and the shamash, the servant or helper candle used to light the others. The candle for the first night is put on the far right side of the menorah. On each subsequent night, an additional candle is placed to the immediate left of the previous night’s candle. The candles are lit from left to right, so that the lighting begins with the newest candle. Families might recite blessings each night, one before the lighting and one as the candles are lit; a third blessing, known as the Shehecheyanu, is recited only on the first night of Hanukkah, as it is on other special family occasions. Some families take this opportunity to explain more about their heritage and the symbolism behind the ritual.
Two of the favorite Hanukkah foods recall the miracle of the oil. Latkes — fried potato pancakes — are a particular favorite, as are doughnuts called sufganiyot. Some recipes have been handed down for generations, and the preparation of the foods during the holidays is frequently a family affair.
Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev in the Hebrew calendar, a date that falls in late November or December. In 2022, Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 18.
Jeanette Kuvin Oren was the stamp designer and artist. Ethel Kessler was the art director.
Hanukkah is being issued in panes of 20 Forever® stamps. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director
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 Designer, Stamp Artist
Jeanette Kuvin Oren
Jeanette Kuvin Oren grew up in Palm Beach, Florida, and is a graduate of Princeton University (1983). In 1985, she earned a master’s in public health at Yale University and went on to begin her Ph.D. studies before making the decision to become a full-time artist.
Since 1984, Kuvin Oren has created art for more than 400 houses of worship as well as schools, community centers, and camps around the world. She specializes in large Judaic art installations of glass, mosaic, metal, fiber art, calligraphy, papercutting, and painting. Kuvin Oren’s work includes Torah covers, ark curtains, donor art, huppot (wedding canopies), ketubot (marriage contracts), mosaics, and wall hangings. She also designs synagogue interiors. Known for a variety of styles, she dyes her own silk fabrics for ritual art and incorporates Jewish history and tradition into her creations.
Kuvin Oren lives in Woodbridge, Connecticut, with her husband and is the mother of two daughters and “Oma” to two amazing grandchildren. She has studios in Connecticut and Israel.
Hanukkah (2022) is Kuvin Oren’s first stamp project for the U.S. Postal Service.