A Detour or a Scheduled Stop?

Postcard US-3223129 to Czech Republic was one of those Chinese New Year cards that got a USPS the Year of the Ram stamp and a hand-canceled postmark at a post office counter in Las Vegas on the first-day-of-issue February 7, 2015. However, an extra automated postmark revealed that the postcard had passed through a processing distribution center in Dallas, Texas. According to the USPS handbook, "advanced facer canceller systems used by processing distribution centers cancel letters quickly. These machines are equipped with biohazard detection systems so letters postmarked by automation benefit from added safety measures."

Other cards mailed on the same date such as US-3208613 to China or US-2651107 to Taiwan did not get an extra postmark.

Dance 4 A Course under the High Roller

As part of the CNY in the Desert 2015 celebration, Fighting United hosts a free "Dance 4 A Cause" event, the largest Dance a thon on the Las Vegas strip to celebrate Chinese New Year while getting fit, under the backdrop of the High Roller at the LinQ parking lot on Saturday February 21, 2015.

Participants are asked to bring a gently used or preferably new K-12 book for donattion to Spread the Word Nevada and Clark County School District. You can also select your very own cause by choosing fighting for AUTISM, HUNGER or CANCER by donating $25 or $50, to get an event T-Shirt and dance in your own special "Pick Your Cause” or VIP Section.

Postcard US-3038661 to Germany shows one of the 28 passenger capsules on the High Roller, which weighs 44,000 pounds or 20,000 kilograms each with a diameter of 22 feet or 6.7 meters and an area of 225 square foot or 20.9 square meters. It can host 40 passengers each with a total capacity of 1,120 passengers for a full ride. Each capsule is individually rotated by electric motors to maintain a stable horizontal cabin floor throughout the rotation.

Ram Sculptures at Wynn Las Vegas

Las Vegas rings in the Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram with lion and dragon dances today. Postcard US-3202717 to Oklahoma, USA shows one of the three 600-pound ram sculptures gilded in gold leaf to mark the occasion at Wynn Las Vegas and Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Fruiting tangerine trees, begonias, calandivas and red, yellow and orange chrysanthemums greet guests throughout the Wynn Atrium.

Las Vegas Spring Festival will be held at at The LINQ Promenade on February 20 and 21, 2015, featuring cultural performances, a live dragon and lion dance, martial arts demonstrations, a car show and a culinary show. The 2015 Las Vegas Spring Festival Parade, part of CNY in the Desert/Las Vegas Spring Festival, will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on February 21 in downtown Las Vegas.

From Snake, to Horse, and to Ram

Postcard US-2651107 to Taiwan was initially one of the Year of the Snake maxi cards enclosed in an envelop with the Year of the Horse Forever stamps. The envelop was sent in with other the Year of the Horse cards for a first-day-of-issue postmark in early 2014. The envelop seemed to be lost in the mail. This the Year of the Ram maxi card was sent as a replacement on February 7, 2015 when the Year of the Ram Forever stamp was first issued. It finally arrived two days before it would have expired permanently after "traveling" for a full year.

Year of the Ram Stamp Issued by USPS

USPS issued the Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram First-Class Forever stamp today. I was the first one who bought the stamps at a local post office as they brought up the stamps from the back and broke out a brand new pack. In celebrating the Year of the Ram, which begins on February 19, 2015 and ends on February 7, 2016,  the stamp shows a wooden candy tray known as a chuen-hop or Tray of Togetherness. The tray is filled with dried fruits, candies, and other treats to provide a sweet beginning to the new year.

According to a USPS postal bulletin, "customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Lunar New Year: Year of the Ram Stamp
Attention: Station Manager
Chinatown Station
867 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. For more than 50, customers have to pay five cents each. All orders must be postmarked by April 8, 2015."

Outgoing postcard US-3224037 to Malaysia was a the Year of the Ram themed card with a matching stamp.

Year of the Goat Display at Bellagio

Postcard US-3202783 to USA features a traditional Chinese New Year of the Goat motif on the left panel and a photo of animated goats on a 14-foot or 4.3-meter tall grassy hilltop at Bellagio's Conservatory & Botanical Gardens on the right panel.

From their vantage point, I-Ching coins are seen lining under the foot of the hill; live Koi swimming in a 21,000-gallon pond by the waterfall; children made of more than 1,000 fresh flowers each dancing amid bamboo trees and red lanterns.

The Year of the Goat (or the Year of the Ram, or the Year of the Sheep) decorations are on display at Bellagio from January 9 to March 14, 2015 with daily live music performances between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The Spring Comes in Full Form

It is still officially in winter. However, with a forecast high temperature at 72°F or 22°C in Las Vegas for tomorrow, it certainly feel like spring already. To commemorate the incoming Year of the Ram, The Venetian and The Palazzo have put out a Chinese New Year art installation at the Waterfall and Atrium Gardens, featuring three life-size rams. A ram is an intact male sheep. Eight additional sheep adorned with fleece of fresh carnations are spotted around the waterfall. In the photo below, a horse and a sheep are seen together, symbolizing the transition from the Year of the Horse (2014) to the Year of the Ram (2015).

Postcard TW-1478246 from Taiwan shows three goats in a water color painting. Sheep is of the genus Ovis while Goat is a member of genus Capra. Sheep have wool while goats have hairs. According to Yahoo Answers, "the easiest way to tell a sheep from a goat is by their tails. In goats their tails point up toward the sky. In sheep, they hang down, pointed at the ground."

Year of the Ram is Coming

My first the Year of the Ram postcard arrived from Taiwan today. It's a maxi card featuring a colorful sheep in paper cut art.  The NT$3.5 stamp, with the image of a sheep stepping gentle pace over plum blossoms against a pink background, is part of a two-stamp set issued by Chunghwa Post in Taiwan on December 1, 2014 to welcome the spring and bring good fortune. The Year of the Ram begins on February 19, 2015, and ends on February 7, 2016. USPS will also issue the Year of the Ram stamp as a Forever stamp in self-adhesive souvenir sheets of 12 in San Francisco, CA on February 7, 2015.