#1125 The Netherlands | NL-3516173

The flag of the Netherlands (Dutch: Vlag van Nederland; German: Flagge der Niederlande) is a horizontal tricolour of red, white, and blue. Variants of the flag have been in use since 1572, and in 1937 the flag was officially formalized as the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is the oldest tricolor flag still in national use. It is distinguished from the French flag which has the same colours arranged vertically and the flag of Luxembourg which has a lighter shade of blue.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Jacqueline (jacquelineke)!

Received on: July 29, 2016

Travel time: 3 days

Distance: 1508 km

#684 Malaysia

The Goat ( 羊 ) is the eighth sign of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Goat is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 未.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Isabella !

Sent on: June 18, 2014

Received on: July 14, 2014

#331 Alberta, Canada

Aries (♈) /ˈɛəriːz/ (meaning "ram") is the first astrological sign in the Zodiac, spanning the first 30 degrees of celestial longitude (0°≤ λ <30º), which area the Sun transits, on average, between March 21 to April 20 each year.

According to the Tropical system of astrology, the Sun enters the sign of Aries when it reaches the northern vernal equinox, which occurs around March 21. Due to the fact that the Earth takes approximately 365.25 days to go around the Sun, the precise time of the equinox is not the same each year, and generally will occur about 6 hours later each year, with a jump of a day (backwards) on leap years. Since 1900 the vernal equinox date ranged from March 20 at 08h (2000) to March 21 at 19h (1903) (all times UTC).

In Sidereal astrology, the sun currently transits the constellation of Aries from 15 April to 15 May (approximately).

Individuals born during these dates, depending on which system of astrology they subscribe to, may be called Arians or Ariens.

Wikipedia.org

Date of Issue: January 14, 2013 - Canadian Pride

Date of Issue: July 5, 2013 - Children’s Literature: Stella

Date of Issue: January 14, 2013 - Queen Elizabeth II

Thank you, Amanda !

Sent on: August 28, 2013

Received on: September 12, 2013

#305 Hong Kong | HK-165132

The Shēngxiào (Chinese: 生肖), also known in English as the Chinese zodiac, is a scheme, and a systematic plan of future action, that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle. It remains popular in several East Asian countries, such as China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan.

Identifying this scheme using the term "zodiac" reflects several similarities to the Western zodiac: both have time cycles divided into 12 parts, each labels at least the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of attributing influence of a person's relationship to the cycle upon their personality and/or events in their life. Nevertheless, there are major differences: the "Chinese" 12-part cycle corresponds to years rather than months. The Chinese zodiac is represented by 12 animals, whereas some of the signs in the Western zodiac are not animals, despite the implication of the Greek etymology of "zodiac". The animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations, let alone those spanned by the ecliptic plane.

Wikipedia.org

Thank you, Kwok (yannes816) !

Received on: August 28, 2013

Travel time: 14 days

Distance: 7837 km (4870 miles)