AP: Washington, DC
The Postmaster General announced today the upcoming release of a series of stamps commemorating the eight holidays celebrated by the vast majority of contemporary pagans.
"Pagans have been an integral part of this nation since its founding and before," said Postmaster Tamar Penrose, acting head of the US Postal Service. "It's time and high time for such a public acknowledgement."
The stamps will be released later this year on November 1, the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain, celebrated by many contemporary pagans as their New Year.
The release coincides with the opening of the Smithsonian's new exhibit, "Pagan America: The First 400 Years." The exhibit will include the unveiling of the original prototypes for the stamps.
The prototypes were created by the Minneapolis Collective of Pagan Artists (MCPA) which, since its founding in 2013, has spearheaded the mainstreaming of pagan art and culture into American consciousness. It was the MCPA that first vetted the idea to the Postal Service.
"The initial inspiration came from an obscure pagan blog," says Paul B. Rucker, spokesman for the MCPA, "but once the spark hit the collective, it caught like wildfire."
The proposed stamps created their own firestorm of controversy in the pagan community when rumors began to circulate concerning which names for the holidays would appear on the stamps—and which would not.
"Pagan community, thy name is diversity," said Magenta Griffith, high priestess emerita of Minneapolis. "The eight sabbats, being so old, are known by many different names. But in the end, we're the People of the Many. Such differences only enrich us."
Griffith acknowledged the magnitude of the event. "It's not so long since we were having our children taken away from us. My thanks to the Postmaster General for having taken this courageous step: it's truly momentous."
Smiling, she added:
"Now can she please do something about how long I have to wait in line every time I go to the post office?"