COVER N. 581 - USA 

Postmark:  Year of the Snake, First Day of Issue Boston MA 14.01.2025

Posted on  the 1st January; Received on the 8th May 2025

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Ah ah! About time I got it, I thought to myself, when I saw  the long envelope with a snake  postmark on... Thank you so much, Gil.

Since I started this blog in mid 2021, with every beginning new year I have received FDCs with all the stamps from the USPS lunar year series, which began in 2020, If I got it right. So, by now, I'm missing 2020 and 2021 (blatant hint, if any of our USA friends are reading this...😀)

This year, the animal of choice is the snake, in Chinese mythology said to be characterised by its wisdom, charm, elegance... hmmmmm how different perceptions on the same things can be for humans across the globe. 

Snakes, in Portugal, used to be associated with exactly the opposite of elegance and charm, and I wouldn't want to be called a snake by an enemy, let alone by a friend 😀

Anyway, the Forever stamp issued by USPS on 14JAN2025 features a representation of a paper mask of a snake, overprinted with some metallic red flowers, for a nice colourful touch.

Postage on the cover was completed with a 22 cent stamp from a 50 x 22 cent stamp sheet issued on 13JUN1987, dedicated to North American Wildlife,  each stamp being illustrated with a different image of an animal;

and

A 2024 forever stamp illustrated with a poinsettia, part of a 4 x  "Forever" stamp set themed on "Holiday Joy".

The First day postmark, issued  at Boston, the capital of the State of Massachusetts, replicates the image on the snake on the stamp, although without the superimposed flowers.