This year the Chinese lunar New Year falls on February 7, 2008. It is the wu-zih year (wu is the fifth of the Ten Celestial Stems and zih is the first of the Twelve Terrestrial Branches and signifies the year of the rat). To welcome the year of the rat, Taiwan Post is specially issuing a set of two New Year’s Greeting Postage Stamps (Issue of 2007) as well as a miniature sheet featuring Chinese zodiac rat. The two stamps will have denominations of NT$3.50 and NT$13.00. And the miniature sheet will have a denomination of NT$12.00. Both the stamps and miniature sheet will be released on December 3, 2007. The designs of the stamps and the miniature sheet follow:1. NT$3.50 Stamp: Inspired by traditional Chinese calligraphy and ink wash painting, this stamp vividly depicts the aura and posture of a rat. 2. NT$13.00 Stamp: This stamp features two brushed Chinese characters for wu-zih and a portrait of a rat. The design is rich with traditional Chinese cultural flavor.3.NT$12.00 Miniature Sheet: The sheet features two mice wearing wedding gowns under a bright red curtain; red lanterns hung on the left and right, each with an upside down Chinese character for spring, which symbolizes that spring has arrived; and the Chinese characters for the wu-zih year in the middle. In the background on both sides are symmetrically arranged paper-cut patterns of house shrews (known as “money” rodents in Chinese) and flowers. In Chinese, the word for “flower” is a homonym for “strikes it rich,” and so these images of flowers symbolize becoming wealthy in the year of the rat. Two house shrews sitting on wheels represent money rolling in from a variety of sources. The sheet conveys New Year’s festiveness and splendor with its shimmering gold and merry red color scheme.