Calling all Moomins! 2021 will be a great Moomin New Year

Calling all Moomins! 2021 will be a great Moomin New Year

Calling all Moomins and their fans. Japan Post will issue 2 souvenir sheets and 2 separate cancels in 2021 featuring the much-loved Moomin family. That’s a total of 20 Moomin stamps to look for. The cancels alone will make this set worthy of hunting. If you are unfamiliar with what a Moomin is, check out Tove Jansson delightful books about the Moomin family. Moomins are, well…Moomins. Hard to describe.

The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish in Finland. They are a family of trolls who are white and roundish, with large snouts.

The carefree and adventurous family live in their house in Moominvalley, though in the past their temporary residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre. They have many adventures with their various friends. Explore the Moomin Family

The most memorable thing about Moomins, for me, is Hemulen, the grandfather figure, who collects stamps. In the Moomin Troll book, he is depressed because he has collected all the stamps in the world and feels adrift in life without stamps to find. How could you not like a stamp collecting troll?

Moomins on Stamps and Souvenir Sheets (s/s)

Japanese Souvenir sheets showing 10 Moomin stamps

Moomin stamps

Two s/s sheets with a total of 20 separate stamps will be available. The real feat will be getting all with the correct cancel socked squarely on the nose for each. So mark your calendar for January 15, 2021 to snag all of them.

Japanese Souvenir sheets showing 10 Moomin stamps

More Moomins

You can purchase them directly from the Japanese Post Office here – Moomin Stamps. They aren’t on sale yet but keep checking so you can get them as soon as they are released. Make sure you get the cancels as well.  Look for the link next to the s/s for details on release dates for the cancels. The pages are in Japanese, so if you are a monolingual like me, you’ll have to muddle through with google translate. It’s not pretty, but you’ll get the basics.

Spectacular Moomin cancels

Scan of 2 Japanese postal cancels showing Moomins

The world needs more Moomins

The level of detail in both cancels is exciting. Yes, I admit it, I’m a Moomin fan. I’m going to hit someone up for the set when it comes out. Fingers crossed I can get my hands on them. They’ll be fameworthy.

Here’s a full list of the coming stamps:

Stamps on s/s one Stamps on s/s two
(1) Snuk’s Jo and Little My and Mimura
(2) Little My, Moomin and Snok Josan
(3) Moomin Mom and MoominPapa Little My
(4) Moomin Mama and Little My
(5) Snufkin, Little My and Moomin
(6) Moomin, Little My and Stinky
(7) Nyoronolo and Little My
(8) Little My
(9) Little My and Sofus
(10) Moominpapa and Little My Moomin Mama
(1) Stinky and Sniff
(2) Little My
(3) Moomin Mama and Tooticki
(4) Moominpapa
(5) Moomin Yassi
(6) Mr. Mimura
(7) Snufkin
(8) Moomin
(9) Snuk’s Shop
(10) Chief

 

A big shout out to Japan Post. They always issue beautiful stamps. Ayami Yoshikawa designed this set. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any information about Yoshikawa. If you have any info, I’d appreciate you passing it along. Most sites I sourced did not translate well into English so it’s a bit of a struggle.

Something special to look forward to in January. Might be just enough to push away the Covid blues for a brief time.

 
Valentine’s Day cancels – 53°29′9.44″N 104°10′2.94″W

Valentine’s Day cancels – 53°29′9.44″N 104°10′2.94″W

Nothing says romance and love like Valentine’s Day, right? Unless you’re a stamp collector. Then Love can be found in Saskatchewan, Canada. That’s about 260 km north east of Saskatoon.  The village of Love, all 12 or so streets of it, is a former railway stop named after CPR conductor Tom Love, so one story goes.

Gateway to the Narrow Hills

Love, Sask – Gateway to the Narrow Hills – population 50, boasts fishing, camping and “challenging golf”. I’m not sure what that means, I find the entire concept of golf challenging. You can also stop in at Cupid’s Coffee Shop, saunter down Cupid’s Way (also known as 1st St. N), enjoy camping, indulge in some shiatsu therapy, visit the Love Barn (not a clue but it sounds intriguing) and Jigger’s Tavern.  And most importantly for Valentine’s, the Love Valentine’s Festival. From the looks of things, it’s a good place to go hiking and just chill with nature.

Now, why am I posting about Love & love & Valentine’s Day in a stamp collecting column? Well, the cancels of course!

Valentine’s Day cancels

A stamp cancel from the village of Love, Sask.

With love from Sask

A second stamp cancel from the village of Love, Sask. Valentine’s Day

Another cool example

 

There has been a post office in Love since 1936. In 1984, it was given permission, by Canada Post, to issue a special Valentine’s day cancel.  That’s 34 years’ worth of love to go looking for.

If you are a cancel hound, you can send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the post office where they will cancel it and send it back.  Or, if you know a cancel collector and want to surprise them, pop their name onto an envelope and have it sent directly to them.

For anyone who hasn’t done the self-addressed stamped envelope thing, here’s how you do it.   Put your name (or anyone’s name for that matter) on the envelope. Put a return address in the top left corner. This can be your address as well. Now, pick out a nice stamp and stick it on the top right corner. Keep everything as tidy as you can so the cover becomes a nice collectable piece.

How to send for the special cancel 

It should look like this:


Mock up of a self addressed stamped envelope

But with a real stamp of course. If you are outside Canada, look up what the postal rate to your country would be (from Canada). The self-addressed envelope must have a Canadian stamp on it.  Canada Post’s website will help you find the proper postage. DO NOT SEND A COVER WITHOUT POSTAGE. It will end up in the garbage. Put a piece of cardboard in the envelope to help it keep it shape and seal it.

Now, get a bigger envelope, slide the self-addressed one into it, put appropriate postage on it and send it to:

Post Mistress
Love, Saskatchewan
Canada
S0J 1P0

Please include a short, polite request for a special Love, Sask cancel and thank the Post Mistress for taking the time to do it. Then you wait. It might take a while to get back to you so it’s important to be patient. Oh, and you can also ask about their t-shirts! Now that would be the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for a stamp collector. 

If you’re having difficulties finding a Canadian stamp, drop me a line and we can produce a couple of ideas. Don’t forget to ask at any local stamp stores, buy new ones direct from Canada Post or swap them with someone who has spares.

If you’d like info on Love, check out Tourism Sask

Or you could email directly to the village for info: TRAVELLER INFO Email: villageoflove@sasktel.net

NOTE: Minor updates made Feb. 4th in formatting and addition of internal link to new articles. 

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