1172 - 1184 with Christmas wishes

1172 – From Dai Li in China.  I always like envelopes from China – they are so attractive.  And in this one was the Chinese red envelope (紅包, hóngbāo). 

And a beautiful miniature stamp sheet.

1173 – From Annina in snowy Finland (FI-1955477), a snowy painting by Arvo Laihonen.  It is entitled Lentävä lammas which according to Google Translate means ‘Flying sheep’.  Somehow I doubt that’s what it really means but then again Lammas in English is 1^st August so it surely doesn’t mean that either.

1174 – My first card from Macedonia and the 54^th country that I have received cards from. It’s always a real thrill to get a card from a new country.

  

And this postcrossing card (MK-4177) from Iva was made even more perfect by being a map.

And its stamps.

1176 – From Maryna in the Ukraine (UA-865355) came this work of art from Canadian illustrator, Claudia Tremblay.  There are some more of her lovely works on her blog.

And its stamp.

1177 – From Kasia in Poland (PL-812166) a map of the natural history of Malopolska.

Małopolska or Lesser Poland (also Little Poland) is a historical region of Poland; its capital is the city Kraków. It forms the southern part of the country, and should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only a small, southern part of Lesser Poland. Historical Lesser Poland is much bigger than the current voivodeship which bears its name, stretching from Częstochowa in the west to the lands northeast of Lublin in the east. In the late Middle Ages, Lesser Poland gradually became the centre of Polish statehood, with Kraków being the capital of the country from the mid-11th century until 1596.

The card had stamps and a perfect miniature stamp sheet

And this lovely little sticker with the clever addition of arms and legs.  Postcrossers are often so imaginative and take so much trouble.

What more could one ask for from a card?  Daughter-who-takes-photos also thought it was absolutely super.

1178 – A Christmas card from Siggi in Germany which Daughter-who-takes-photos thought was lovely too. 

 

1179 – From Chris (the Flamblogger) came this view of Oceanside, California. 

1180 – From Germany with Susanne’s usual delightful patterns and stickers on the back –

 

1181 - I can't get used to cards which say the children are excited 'for Santa to visit and for summer break.  It goes against all my innate logic to have a Santa who comes arrives in the summer but that's what happens in Jamie's world down under!

1182 – Although this card is labelled Tokyo it came from Nelly, Hugo and Theo in France with Christmas and New Year wishes.

1183 – These Greenfinches came from a German postcrosser, Gisela (DE-2732108).

 

1184 – MaryLou and Greg in the San Diego, California (US-2541193), sent me this postcard of the lovely Audrey Hepburn.

1158 -1169 - A new selection

1158 -  A picture of the Minsk railway station sent to me by Inna from Belarus (BY-1099562). 

I don’t make a habit of sharing what is on the reverse of the cards but I would like to say that Inna has just gone through what I consider to be one of the worst experiences possible and I’d like you to think of her this Christmas and send her your thoughts.

  

1159 /1162 – From my Bulgarian friend Irina –

The wonderful stamps on the package from Irina.

 

1163 – From Lili in Slovenia (SI-87156)

More miniature works of art on stamps.

1164 – Tulips from – not Amsterdam but - Vladikavkaz courtesy of Dzantemir (RU-2206743)

This card had a whole collection of the 2009 Russian kremlin stamps –

Pskov Kremlin and Moscow Kremlin

Rostov Kremlin and Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

Kolomna Kremlin, Kazan Kremlin and Zaraysk Kremlin

1165 – From Carin, a postcrosser in The Netherlands (NL-2226015).

1166 – Christmas greetings thanks to a home-made card from Eva in Morocco.  (The star and tree open out).

 1167 – And more Christmas greetings from Renate in Austria.

A very artistic stamp of the St. Georgenberg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery at one time situated in Fiecht in Tyrol; a pilgrimage church still stands on the site of the original 1708 abbey.

1168 – A Neapolitan sunset photographed by Pasquale and turned into a postcard.

The stamps.

1169 – The beautiful Audrey Hepburn from Susanne, my German friend.

The stamps, one of which is suitably festive.

1172 - A red envelope (紅包, hóngbāo)

I have long since known about the tradition of the Chinese red envelope (紅包, hóngbāo) but I never thought to receive one.

Red envelopes are usually handed out to younger generations by their parents, grandparents, relatives, and even close neighbours and friends during Chinese New Year.  Red symbolizes luck. A red envelope is simply a long, narrow, red envelope with money in it. Traditional red envelopes are often decorated with gold Chinese characters like happiness and wealth.

My friend Dai Li in Hubei chose to send me one with a Christmas card for our New Year. 

It contained money - a note and a coin.

Isn't this just wonderful?  I shall treasure this and Jo has suggested we keep it in out 'good luck' corner where we have various other things related to luck and money.  The corner is one which was chosen according to the guidlines of Feng Shui.