the Netherlands 2022

the Netherlands

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

two stamps (2x International 1 value = 2x 1.55 €)

those stamps are issued in a mini-sheet of 6 stamps se-tenant (3 stamps of each)

Het vrouwtje van Stavoren (The Lady of Stavoren is a folk tale from the Netherlands which originated in the 16th century. 

Now a village of just 1,000 inhabitants, Stavoren was once a wealthy port city in the Dutch province of Friesland but began to decline in the late Middle Ages after a sandbank formed outside the harbour, blocking ships from entering and exiting. Several stories have been told over the years to explain the forming of the sandbank, including the tale of the Lady of Stavoren.

The story, of which more than 27 versions are known, involves an exceedingly rich patrician merchant widow, who desired ever greater riches. She sent a captain of her merchant fleet out in search of the greatest treasure in the world. When he returned with wheat, declaring wheat to be "the most precious thing in the world," as it can feed the hungry, the widow, in her overweening pride and anger at his (as she perceived it) foolishness, let the wheat be thrown overboard into the harbour of Stavoren.

When she was cautioned against this wicked behaviour, being reminded of the fickleness of fate and (despite her wealth and power) of the delicateness of her station, in hubris she took a ring from her finger and cast it into the ocean, declaring that she was as likely to fall into poverty as she was of regaining the ring.

Soon afterwards, during a banquet thrown for her fellow Hanseatic merchant princes, she finds the ring inside a large fish served to her. As this event portended, she lost her wealth, living out her remaining years in destitution, begging for scraps of bread. In divine retribution the port had silted, and the wheat that had been cast overboard now grew in the resulting sandbank that closed the harbour and ruined the city.

The tale has inspired songs, plays, operas and films. A statue of the fabled Lady gazing out to sea was erected in front of Stavoren harbour in 1969. Source : Wikipedia

Belarus 2022

Belarus

Date of Issue: 6th May 2022

two stamps (2x P value)

both stamps are issued in a souvenir-sheet of 4 stamps (2 stamps of each)

both stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 5 stamps

 

 

Lesovik - The Leshy is a tutelary deity of the forests in pagan Slavic mythology. As the spirit rules over the forest and hunting, he may be related to the Slavic god Porewit.

The Leshy is masculine and humanoid in shape, is able to assume any likeness and can change in size and height. He is known by some to have a propensity to lead travellers astray and abduct children, which would lead some to believe he is an evil entity. He is, however, also known to have a more neutral disposition towards humans, dependent on the attitudes and behaviours of an individual person, or local population, towards the forest. Leshy could take children who were cursed by their relatives (in particular, parents) away to the forest people. Some would therefore describe him as more of a temperamental being, like a fairy.

The Leshy is known by a variety of names and spellings including : Lesovik (Russian: Лесовик, Belarusian: Лесавік, Ukrainian: Лісовик, Serbo-Croatian: Lesovik, Лесовик). Source Wikipedia

Rusalka - In Slavic folklore, the rusalka is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits. Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid. 

In Belarus they were linked with the forest and field. They were usually pictured as beautiful naked maidens, but in some areas they were imagined as hideous and hairy. They were said to tickle men to death. According to some Russian beliefs, rusalki had the appearance of very pale little girls with green hair and long arms. In other beliefs, they were described as naked girls with light brown hair. Source Wikipedia

Malta 2022

Malta

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

two stamps (0.59 & 2.- €)

 

both stamps are issued in mini-sheets of 11 stamps + 1 vignettes

 

the 0.59 € value stamp is also issued in a booklet of 5 stamps + 1 vignette

The Legend of Calypso - As the legend narrates, Ulysses' ship was hit by a violent storm, causing him to be the only survivor of his shipwreck. After a few days of clutching a broken mast, he spied land and swimming towards it, found food, water, flowers, and beautiful girls.

The nymph Calypso appeared from within a cave giving him food and shelter. Ulysses spent a good many years, "....in heaven with a queen..." as the legend goes, but others have speculated that he was her captive. But after a number of years, it was time to return home and he prayed to the gods to help him. After much persuasion Calypso reluctantly let him go, giving him, food, water, and sails for his boat. If you head to Ramla l-Hamra beach, you can spot Calypso's Cave up within the rock face. One version of the legend places Calypso on the island of Ogygia (Sicily), however the renowned Greek historian Callimachus places it on Gozo, Malta's sister island.

Legend of Speranza Cave - According to the book Naghrfu l-Leggendi Maltin by Guido Lanfranco, the legend recounts how while a young girl was gathering grass in Mosta field, she heard voices in the distance, only to then be chased by two corsairs. She was far from home and needed a hiding place fast, so she took shelter in a nearby cave.

While praying to Our Lady for salvation, a spider began weaving a web all across the cave's entrance. As a result of this the corsairs did not enter the cave assuming that the young girl could not possibly be in there.

In his commentary, Guido Lanfranco shares that the chapel at Wied Speranza was completed in 1761. It's well taken care of, and a feast is celebrated each November. The popular cave is situated beneath the chapel, with a statue that depicts the girl praying on her knees, along with statues of Sts. John and Luke.

Serbia 2022

Serbia

Date of Issue: 6th May 2022

one souvenir-sheet (85.- RSD)

 

 

The Drekavac is also depicted on the 2022 Europa stamps issue of the Serb post of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Drekavac (literally, the Shrieker) is a creature from the mythology of the South Slavs, especially represented in the mythology of the Serbs. The name of this creature comes from the verb drečati, which means to shriek or scream. Legends mention that it produces frightening cries that resemble those of children, howling wolves, bleating male goats, meowing cats or screeching birds. These cries, it is believed, can make a person deaf.

Folk beliefs also say that Drekavac is like a vampire, a material manifestation of the soul of the deceased who cannot find its peace after death, so it comes out of the grave at night and torments those who have wronged them in life. According to other legends, Drekavac is the manifest form of the soul of a dead, unbaptized child, who comes out of its grave at night and visits its parents' house.

In the description of Drekavac, it is most often mentioned that it is a demonic being, covered with long fur, which it constantly treads on and because of that he shrieks. It has large and sharp nails on its fingers, resembling claws, and it is believed that it is capable of shapeshifting.

These creatures inhabit caves, forests, ponds, rivers and willows, and can be found only at night, near cemeteries or forests. They are very afraid of daylight and dogs. They attack people who find themselves near a cemetery or forest at night, by jumping on their backs, riding them, and forcing them to run all night, until the first roosters. When the first roosters crow, Drekavac pushes its prey away by the road or the forest, and leaves it lying there.

Legends say that Drekavac is the most dangerous for people in the period of the so-called "Unbaptized days", from Orthodox Christmas to the Epiphany, when they are most often encountered.

NOTE : The Drekavac is also depicted on the 2022 Europa stamps issue of the Serb post of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Spain 2022

Spain

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

one stamp (Tarifa B value = 1.65 €)
 

 This stamp is issued in sheets of 25 stamps and also in a mini-sheet of 6 stamps

The sleeping dragon of Mallorca - In the southwest of the island of Mallorca lies the legendary island of Sa Dragonera. The island is about four kilometres long and one kilometre wide.

Between the 14th and 16th centuries it served as a hideout for corsairs, pirates and smugglers.

A Natural Park since 1995, home to species such as the extinct monk seal, today it is inhabited by some twenty endemic species such as Eleonora's falcons, cormorants and seagulls, which build their nests on its high cliffs.

Also, in line with the myth that surrounds it, there are many small "dragons", guardians of the area: the sargantanas or Lilford's lizards, a species endemic to Mallorca and Menorca. They are similar to geckos and during the warmer months they can be seen as soon as they land on the most uninhabited islands in the area.

Sa Dragonera takes its name from its silhouette. If you fly over the island, the image leaves no room for doubt, showing the figure of a sleeping dragon.

The legend of the dragon speaks of this mythological animal, snakes and all kinds of reptiles that protect Mallorca from unwanted invaders.

Hungary 2022

Hungary

Date of Issue: 2nd May 2022

two stamps (2x 715.- HUF) issued in one souvenir-sheet of 4 stamps (2 of each)

The tale of the white horse is one of the myths and legends about how the land of Hungary was acquired dating from the time the Magyar tribes settled in the Carpathian Basin. This was passed down by oral tradition for centuries until it was recorded in writing. Several sources have survived about this story. The legend of the white horse was included by Anonymus in his historical work, but it is also mentioned in the Buda and Dubnica Chronicles. The most complete story is preserved in the Illuminated Chronicle, written at the end of the 13th century. According to the legend, when the chieftain Árpád and his nobles heard of the wealth of Pannonia, they sent an envoy with the most beautiful steed from Árpád’s stable, a white horse, as a present to the prince of the province, Svatopluk. In exchange the envoy asked for a canteen of water from the Danube, a handful of soil and some grass from the meadows. Little did Svatopluk realise that by giving these he was actually handing over the right to the land. The story goes that the Hungarian chieftains were exploiting an ancient eastern custom which was based on the belief that the soil, dust or any other object taken from a country, settlement or house would place that country or area under the power of its enemy. Árpád then entered Pannonia with the seven chieftains, not as a guest, but as the rightful owner of the land.

Cyprus (Turkish post) 2022

Cyprus (Turkish post)

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

two stamps (6.- & 10.75 TRY)

both stamps are also issued in mini-sheets of 8 stamps

Karakiz - In the early days of the Ottoman Empire, shepherds used to wander only during the day on the rock to the east of Kyrenia. No one would dare to go there at night, believing that this area is unlucky and gathering place for jinn at night. A shepherd herding cattle here had a very beautiful daughter known as Karakiz. Karakiz’s favourite thing was to bathe in this bay. Young shepherds who visited that region fell in love with her because of her beauty. A rich shepherd’s son liked her and had his parents ask her father to give his daughter as a bride. Since Karakiz liked him, the wedding preparations started. On the day of her wedding, Karakiz got bored with the heat of the wedding dress she wore and the veil on her head, so she went down the bay to have a bath and relax. After she took off her wedding dress of the shore, she went into the sea with her veil. Legend has it that there was an eye (whirlpool) at the bottom of the big rock in the bay that opened certain times and closed after swallowing everything there. Just when Karakiz entered the sea, that eye opened and swallowed her : the body was never found. Only her veil was found near the shore, and it was given to the groom as a souvenir. From that day on, the rocky area was called "Karakiz’s lair", while the bay to the west of this area was named "Karakiz bay".

Pygmalion and Galatea - The ancient city of Carpasia was a harbour town located on the coast, 4 km west of today’s Dipkarpaz village. It was established as a city-state during Pagan times, before Christianity. Today, it is possible to see the fortification walls and columns of the palace in the clear waters of the sea. The legendary king Pygmalion, who founded this city, had an artistic character. He decorated his palace with his own carved marble sculptures. He wasn’t satisfied with the surrounding women, but was waiting for his ideal : his queen. One day, he began to carve a beautiful woman, sculpted from snow-white marble. Day by day, Pygmalion fell in love with his own carved sculpture. Each day, his love grew deeper. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, took pity on Pygmalion and want to end his sorrow. One day, when the king hugged the sculpture, he realized that it had come to life ; that his creation had colour in its cheeks, and was looking at him lovingly. He gave the fair-skinned woman the name "Galatea, which means "as white as milk". He married her, and they had a son named Paphos. Years passed, and the King said to his son : Dear son, I have established a kingdom at the very easternmost point of the island. Go to the west and found your own kingdom. It is believed that the city of Paphos or Baf, was founded by and named after Paphos, the son of King Pygmalion.

NOTE : the stamps issued by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus aren't recognized on an international level, not by the UPU nor by PostEurop.