USPS Chinese New Year, Year of The Monkey, Lunar New Year, Happy New Year (Sheet of 20) 37 Cent Postage Stamps 2004 Scott #3832

The U.S. Postal Service celebrated the Year of the Monkey with the issuance of a 37-cent stamp on January 13, 2004, in San Francisco, CA. Artist, Clarence Lee, of Honolulu, HI, created a distinctively modern and Chinese design with a paper-cut two dimensional look. A professional calligrapher, Lau Bun, wrote Kanji characters to state the name of each stamp on the left side. Kanji is a Japanese adaptation to Chinese characters and can be read by a variety of Asian groups from differing countries and cultures. The monkey is the 9th of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac associated with the Lunar calendar. People of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, and Mongolian heritage celebrate the Lunar New Year. Known for their excellent sense of humor, people born during the Year of the Monkey are said to be mischievous and sociable. With their keen intellect, they can easily adapt to new situations.