The United States Postal Service and Israeli Postal Authority commemorated Hanukkah with a joint stamp issue on October 22, 1996, in Washington, DC, and in Jerusalem, Israel. The 32-cent United States stamp and Israeli stamp went on sale nationwide on October 23.
Designed by first-time stamp artist Hannah Smotrich, the stamp features nine colorful candles symbolizing Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday that centers around the miracle of light. Hanukkah is a holiday about thankfulness and joy and commemorates the struggle for religious independence of the Jewish Hasmoneans from the Syrian-Greeks in 165 BC.
The stamp was the first one issued in the US Postal Service's new Holiday Celebrations Series, which reflects a different cultural or ethnic holiday each year. The stamps were issued in a self-adhesive pane of twenty and were printed by Avery Dennison on the gravure press.
