ROOSTER
The chicken is the only bird in the Chinese Zodiac, and its distant ancestor was domesticated and evolved into the present domestic chicken. Since ancient times, the chicken has been regarded as the “bird of five virtues”. People have interpreted the animal characteristics of the chicken, associating them to symbolic meaning, especially trustworthiness and punctuality. Chickens have high reproductive capacity and survival rate, being industrious by nature, foraging for food all day long. Despite its relative small size and strength, the chicken is bold and courageous in critical moments, and is even believed to have some kind of divine ability to ward off disasters and evil spirits. The Rooster is the tenth in the Chinese zodiac. and its corresponding earthly branches is “You”.
In 1993, 2005 and 2017, Macao CTT issued stamps for the Year of the Rooster. On the stamps and first day covers for the first zodiac cycle, there is a brave-looking rooster standing upright with its chest puffed out. In the second cycle of zodiac souvenir sheet designed by Lio Man Cheong, the protagonist, on the other hand, takes on a more robust and plump shape. Another 2017 Year of the Rooster souvenir sheet, designed by Lam Chi Ian, features a colourful rooster crowing amidst the fireworks on a diamond-shaped stamp, the background of the souvenir sheet also features the traditional Portuguese Barcelos Rooster, and greetings of New Year's seasonal greetings in both Chinese and Portuguese. In addition, the Year of the Rooster postage label designed by Anita Fung, with the coin-shape postmark, was affixed on the commemorative cover for the “100th Anniversary of the Postal Savings”.
In 2016, Tonga Post issued a set of two stamps for the Year of the Rooster. One of the stamps, designed by renowned Chinese stamp designer Chen Shaohua, features a rooster with black feathers spread out like a windmill and rotation patterns, symbolizing the endless life and creativity of the animal. Another stamp, designed by renowned New Zealand designer Cheung Heung Yeung, features a pair of chickens in rainbow plumage, nestled together. The hen is depicted with the Chinese flower Acacia, while the rooster is depicted with Christmas flowers.
Canada Post issued Year of the Rooster stamps in 2005 and again in 2017. According to the designer, the design of 2005 was a computer-generated effect. The elements such as the feathers and crown of the rooster are designed at first, then decompose and combine them to create images of various shades of ink and colour. Finally, gainst the gilded background of light yellow, there stand a embossed rooster with tail up. In the souvenir sheet issued in 2017, using bright red as the main colour to highlight a rooster, sketched with golden line, with its chest puffed out with pride, This wavy line omposition is a rare design.
These stamps were all issued at the end of 2016 to celebrate the following year as the Year of the Rooster. Grenada Post issued a miniature sheet containing four oval coloured rooster stamps on the rich red background, although it was marked as an “agency issue” in the stamps catalogue of Colnect. In addition, the same catalogue records that only one set of stamps was ever issued by the Madagascar Post. In other words, the four-stamp gradient yellow background miniature sheet was “illegally issued”. Ghana Post also issued a set of two miniature sheets, both with blue backgrounds, each designed in a different style, but these are the genuine official issued.
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