Stamps Wiki:LNY2021/7

New Zealand

2021 Year of the Ox

2 December 2020

2021 is not just the year of the Ox. It’s also a metal Ox year. The last time that happened it was a different world. It was 1961, the year that cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to escape gravity and float in space above the Earth. In New Zealand it was the year that Waitangi Day became a national holiday. It was the year that the twist got everyone changing up their dance moves. People spent their screen time watching Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s at the cinema. In 1961 the population of people born in China and living in New Zealand was only 4,194 - that’s compared to a total population of 2,461,300. It was the first year that wine could be legally sold in restaurants and the year capital punishment for murder was abolished.

The 2021 Year of the Ox stamps take inspiration from the Chinese Nianhua poster tradition. These posters are created specifically to commemorate the arrival of a new year. For Ying Chu, the designer of the stamps, they evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for Chinese traditions. The style of the posters has its origins in woodblock printing made popular during the Ming dynasty. Back then, various motifs were used, from portraits of immortal gods to illustrations of mythical stories and depictions of beautiful babies. By referencing the Nianhua poster, the stamps create a connection between Chinese New Zealanders and the ancient cultural practices of mainland China<