Australia Post recently released a lunar New Year stamp to celebrate the year of the Dragon. Melbourne-based designer, Dani Poon designed 12 Chinese zodiac stamps to be released. The Dragon stamp is fifth in the series.
Chinese legend tells of Buddha’s invitation to the animals to participate in a race to win 12 coveted positions on the Chinese zodiac calendar. The Dragon, although expected to win was placed fifth because he stopped to create rain to break a severe drought and then aided the Rabbit, a fellow competitor.
The stamp designs feature the Chinese character for the Dragon on the $1.80 stamp, and paper cut motifs are used to pictorially represent the Dragon on the 60c stamp. Both designs feature a gold foil overlay.