Azores 2022

Azores

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

one stamp (0.95 €) and one souvenir-sheet (2x 0.95 €)

the stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 10 stamps

The Legend of Pêro Botelho’s Caldera - A little moral tale, recounting the punishment for a sulphurous temper. Silence is what Pêro Botelho gets back in return whenever he begs “Get me out of here! Get me out of here!”, from the bottom of the Furnas cave, on the island of São Miguel, where he has been trapped since immemorial time. A man of deplorable character, he had the habit, like the other inhabitants of the region, of boiling wicker and corn in volcanic calderas of boiling water. In one of them, which exudes a strong smell of sulphur, it was more common, however, to use its mud to cure various diseases, such as rheumatism. It is said that, one day, when going there to find the balsamic material, Pêro Botelho lost his footing and fell into the caldera. He attempted an appeal for help, but no one would have heard him. And he was never seen again. The only sign of life would be the cry for a hypothetical rescue. Or, all things considered, a little more. For if anyone were to approach the warm cavity and call out to him, they would receive a smoky puff of stones, ashes and mud in response. In addition to the more or less recurrent plea, Pêro Botelho would respond in an ill-tempered manner to any attempt to engage in dialogue, even when kind-hearted. And when children and adults threw stones into the caldera, saying “Give us a sneeze, Pêro Botelho!”, they would be expelled back out at them. So, whenever anyone approached the cave to find the therapeutic mud, they were always scared of what might come from there. From then on, the residents of Povoação began to call the smoking orifice Caldeira de Pêro Botelho, or Pêro Botelho’s Caldera.

Portugal 2022

Portugal

Date of Issue: 9th May 2022

one stamp (0.95 €) and one souvenir-sheet (2x 0.95 €)

the stamp is issued in a mini-sheet of 10 stamps

Legend of the Miracle of Our Lady of Nazaré - Salvation in extremis is what is often dreamt of in times of great distress. Or something to which, under such circumstances, the prayers of the most faithful are addressed. And that’s what helped Dom Fuas Roupinho on a certain foggy day. On 14 September 1182, the Captain-General of the Porto de Mós castle was hunting, when he sighted what appeared to be a deer. Excited at the prospect of good meat, he launched into fiery pursuit. So invested was he in the task that he only realised that he was on top of a cliff when the fall seemed all but inevitable. At the last moment however, his horse stood on its hind legs, which have been engraved there ever since. The image of the prey, which would ultimately turn out to be the devil, had vanished. Dom Fuas Roupinho was rescued through the instant intervening salvation of Our Lady of Nazaré after having appealed to her in supplication. The image of the saint was hidden a little further down, in a small grotto located on the headland. Relieved by such a provident intervention, the knight dismounted, descended into the sacred hollow, fell to his knees and prayed in gratitude. Shortly afterwards he ordered the construction of a small church at the top of the cliff, the Chapel of the Memory (Ermida da Memória), where he placed this image. The relic was already very old at the time. It was said to have been made by Saint Joseph, in the original village of Nazareth, in Palestine. A few centuries later, it would have been transferred to the Iberian Peninsula, to a monastery near Mérida. There it remained until the Arab invasion of 711. Trying to protect it, the Gothic King Rodrigo and the monk Frei Romano decided to take her with them towards the Atlantic coast. The grotto at the top of the cliff was the chosen location. And there it stayed until the miracle that saved Roupinho. After remaining in the evocative chapel that he had erected in 1182, in 1377 the image was moved to a new sanctuary that King Fernando I had decided to build and which would be rebuilt in the 17th century. It is there that, even today, the image of Our Lady is venerated. And it is from there that worship of Our Lady of Nazaré spread throughout the destinations of the Portuguese maritime explorers, thanks to her popularity among the peoples of the sea.

Greece 2022

Greece

Date of Issue: 12th May 2022

two stamps se-tenant (2.- & 4.50 €)

both stamps are also issued in one booklet of 4 stamps (2 of each) - the stamps from the booklet haven't a perforation on two sides

 

Orpheus' Death -  Orpheus, during the end of his life, worshipped no gods except the sun, whom he called Apollo. One day, he went to pay tribute to the sun near the oracle of Dionysus, where he was caught by the Maenads, and was killed for being an infidel to the god Dionysus. Source : Greek Mythology.com

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.