The Postal Service issued a new Hanukkah Forever stamp on Oct. 20, 2022.

The fibre art was hand-dyed and quilted to create the abstract image of a Hanukkiah the nine-stem candelabra used during the holiday in a palette of purples, yellows, rusts, and blues.

Hanukkah is a Jewish celebration that can fall anywhere from late November to late December in the modern calendar. In 2022, it began at sundown on Dec. 18 and ended on Dec. 26.

The eight-day observance commemorates events in the second century B.C. when Jewish rebels reclaimed the Second Temple of Jerusalem after Syrian soldiers seized it and turned it into an altar to Zeus.

The stamp’s vibrant image is based on a wall hanging by artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren, who also designed the stamp. Ethel Kessler served as art director.

To cleanse and rededicate the temple, Jewish worshipers needed pure olive oil to light the temple menorah but could only find a small amount that had not been defiled. That small amount was said to have miraculously lasted eight days.