Philately grows in popularity

This year has been in many ways mostly substandard but for many things like Philately it has been more than satisfactory. The pandemic has meant that people all over the world have been stuck inside their homes without anything to do and lots of free time. This sudden change in lifestyle has increased people’s interest in hobbies. I read online that because of the pandemic and isolation of society, stamp collecting AKA, philately, has had a huge rise in popularity. With millions of people stuck at home without anything to do stamp collecting and other hobbies like knitting, painting and gardening have also revived. But the most prominent part of why philately has become in vogue during this time, is because it reminds people that all hope is not lost. Because stamps are like paintings and they tell stories, the small artwork on the stamps have given hope and inspired them to keep collecting more and
more making beautiful collections that give satisfaction. Personally, this year has been rough and I think everyone reading has had the same experience but philately has really helped me through this rough time and I hope it has for you too. I together with my dad, traded stamps online, purchasing lots of Ceylon stamps from overseas collectors. They arrived today and we are both thrilled, because we would never have had the time to look for stamps, especially Ceylon stamps, collected and treasured by collectors from as far away as England.

COVID-19 inspires new stamp design

In addition to the increased interest in stamps, many new stamps have also been designed and issued focused on the pandemic. In Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Posts issued a collection titled “Rise Up and Defeat Covid-19”, a very colorful collection which recognizes all the people involved in fighting the pandemic

China issued one of the earliest collections in May 2020, featuring “Fight against the Pandemic” meter stamp.

Spain issued a stamp to say “thank you” to the medical and frontline staff as well as global friends who stood by the country to fight the pandemic.