Canada Post welcomes the arrival of the Year of the Pig with a special stamp. The design of this bright philatelic item is inspired by Zhu Bajie, a colourful character from the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. He was banished from a powerful position in Heaven, and afterwards he was reborn into the mortal world as Pigsy, a half-human, half-pig creature. On the stamp, a proud Pigsy is clad in heavenly armour as he carries an enormous muck rake.
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2019 is the Year of the Pig, celebrating a resourceful creature known for being observant, intelligent, and confident. The Year of the Pig begins February 5, 2019, and ends on January 24, 2020. The pig is the twelfth and final animal in the Chinese Lunar calendar. Aside from being a food source, pigs were also used for barter and were seen as a symbol of stable living. The Chinese character for family is composed of a pig under a roof, and the pig figure plays a role in both the protection of children and in burial rituals.
This is Canada Post’s eleventh Lunar New Year stamp issue. The series will be concluded in January 2020, with the arrival of the Year of the Rat.
