This Official First Day Cover commemorates Hanukkah, a widely celebrated festival in the Jewish calendar and part of Canada Post’s annual holiday stamp series. Designed by Hélène L’Heureux and illustrated by Stephanie Carter, it features elements from the sixth stamp in the Hanukkah series – including a hanukkiyah (eight-branched menorah) surrounded by other symbols associated with the Festival of Lights.

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Cancelled in Winnipeg, Manitoba

About Canada Post’s holiday stamp issues

Canada Post's holiday stamp issues celebrate events significant to Canada's diverse population, including Eid, Christmas, Diwali and Hanukkah.

The Hanukkah Official First Day Cover marks the Jewish Festival of Lights, which this year takes place from nightfall December 7 to nightfall December 15. This is Canada Post's sixth Hanukkah issue – the previous ones being in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

About Hanukkah

The lighting of a hanukkiyah (eight-branched menorah) is a central element of Hanukkah celebrations. It is also one of several holiday traditions that pay homage to the miracle of the oil, which happened in 165 BCE, after the Jews reclaimed their homeland and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.

It is said that the Temple menorah burned for eight days on a single day’s worth of olive oil. As a result, fried foods – such as latkes and jelly doughnuts – are strongly associated with Hanukkah, while olives, olive branches and cruses of oil are sometimes used to symbolize the story behind the festival.

The dreidel – a spinning top that children play with during the holiday – also has a special connection. The Hebrew letters on the four sides of the dreidel stand for the phrase Nes gadol haya sham, which means, “A great miracle happened there.”

This year, the Festival of Lights, as Hanukkah is also known, takes place from nightfall December 7 to nightfall December 15.

About the design

Designed by Hélène L’Heureux and illustrated by Stephanie Carter, the Hanukkah Official First Day Cover features an enlargement of the central illustration on the stamp – a hanukkiyah (Hanukkah menorah) with eight white candles and a central helper candle burning a warm-toned flame. The hanukkiyah is surrounded by colourful flowers, olive branches and other decorative elements.

The Hanukkah stamp is located in the upper right corner of the Official First Day Cover. The cancel mark overlaps the left side of the stamp.

A bright teal colour fills the background of the envelope, and the words “Hanukkah” and “Hanoukka” appear in bold white text below the stamp and cancel mark.

Cancel mark
The Official First Day Cover was cancelled on November 16, 2023 – several days in advance of Hanukkah, which takes place this year from December 7 to December 15. Winnipeg, Manitoba, was chosen as the cancel location because it is home to a large community of Jewish Canadian. The cancel mark features a line drawing of a hanukkiyah (eight-branched menorah).

Product # 414246131

Hanukkah (2023): Official First Day Cover