The Postal Service will release its latest Hanukkah stamp on Thursday, Sept. 19.
The stamp features an image of a hanukkiah, the nine-branch candelabra used during the holiday.
Antonio Alcalá, the stamp’s art director and designer, created the ink drawing using irregular lines to suggest a more human presence.
He completed the image by digitally adding blue to the stamp background and white to the hanukkiah, evoking the holiday’s traditional colors. The flames are rendered in yellow.
USPS issued its first Hanukkah stamp in 1996. Additional stamps have been released on a regular basis since 2004.
Hanukkah celebrates the reclaiming of the Temple in Jerusalem during the second century B.C.
The Temple had been desecrated by a conquering army. Worshippers prepared to rededicate the holy space but discovered that only one small jar of consecrated oil remained, enough to last one day. Rather than wait for more oil to arrive, they lit the Temple menorah, which burned for eight days.
The “miracle of the oil” is celebrated during Hanukkah with the ceremonial lighting of the hanukkiah.
This year, Hanukkah begins Wednesday, Dec. 25, and concludes Thursday, Jan. 2.
The Postal Service will dedicate the new stamp at the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC.
The stamp will be available in panes of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com.