It didn't look like a Christmas stamp until I looked a little closer. It's one stamp from a set of four
designed by Māris Upenieks and the common design element is a winter glove. And there appears to be a string of Christmas lights running across the stamp. The set was designed to depict a single day of getting ready for Christmas. One stamp in the series is a charity stamp done in collaboration with Latvian Radio 5's Dod peci (give five) charity event where radio DJs take requests in exchange for a 5 euro donation to charitable causes.
I believe this is the first time in over 13 years of cover circuit club memberships that I've ever received a circuit from a member in my own country. And I found it to be an interesting cover. It's a Christmas card that was sealed around the edges, addressed and stamped. What a smart idea. An interesting way to reuse a greeting card.
I sometimes enjoy receiving covers from far away places that actually look like they've traveled from far away. Not always, but sometimes. Like this one that came back to me from New Zealand's Scott Base (via Christchurch) in the Ross Dependency. It was water damaged enough that my address had been partially washed out but still, it found it's way back to me. Someone at the sorting center wrote in my street address beneath the label. Maybe it was dropped in the snow outside the base, or fell onto the deck of the supply ship on it's way back to me. More likely though it was damaged somewhere closer to home.
A first-day cover from Algeria commemorating the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and Algerian Diplomacy Day. The UN was founded on 24 October 1945. Algeria was admitted to the UN on 8 October 1962: 3 months after gaining independence.
