Faroese Stamps

Queen Margrethe II – 40 years on the throne.

2012-01-04T18:40:00.001Z

Stamp

Souvenir sheet

On 14 January 2012, forty years have passed since Her Majesty Queen MargretheII became Queen of Denmark. Queen Margrethe is the constitutional head ofthe Kingdom of Denmark, which includes Denmark and the two autonomous regions:Greenland and the Faroe Islands. On this occasion the Faroese Posta, PostDenmark and Post Greenland issue a common stamp sheet.

Queen Margrethe was born on 16 April 1940 at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. Herparents were Crown Prince Frederik, later King Frederik IX, and Crown PrincessIngrid. In 1944 and 1946 the couple had two more daughters, respectivelyPrincess Benedikte and Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark.

Princess Margrethe was babtized in Holmen Church in Copenhagen on 14 May1940. Her full name was Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid. Atthat time, female succession to the throne was not an option, so not until theintroduction of the Act of Succession of 27 March 1953, Princess Margrethebecame Crown Princess of Denmark and heir to the throne. On 16 April 1958,Crown Princess Margrethe took seat in the State Council and served as head ofState Council meetings when her father King Frederik IX was absent.

Education
The young Princess Margrethe received her primary school education at Zahle’sSchool in Copenhagen from 1946 to 1955. The first couple of years though,the education took place at Amalienborg Palace. After a short stay atboarding school in England (1955-56), she started on her high school educationand graduated from Zahle’s School in 1959.

In 1960 Crown Princess Margrethe took the obligatory examination in philosophyat the University of Copenhagen. In 1960-61 she attended studies inarcheology at the University of Cambridge in England. In the period1961-62 Margrethe studied political science at University of Århus, in 1963 shestudied in Sorbonne, France and in 1965 at the London School of Economics.

In 1967 Crown Princess Margrethe married the French diplomat Henri Marie JeanAndré Count de Laborde de Monpezat, who by this marriage became Prince Henrikof Denmark. They had two sons, Crown Prince Frederik, born on 26 May 1968,and Prince Joakim, born on 7 June 1969.

From Crown Princess to Queen
On 14 January 1972 King Frederik IX died. The next day, the Crown Princesswas hailed as Queen Margrethe II by Prime Minister Jens Otto Krag atChristiansborg Castle Square.

The Constitutional Head of State
Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II is the constitutional Head of State ofDenmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. This means that she as a rulerhas no political powers or influence – these lies with the democraticallyelected parliaments.

The Queen’s role in elections
When time calls for elections to the Danish Parliament, the Prime Ministervisits the Queen, submits his resignation and recommends generalelections. When the elections are over, the Queen calls for a so-calledQueen’s Round, where two representatives from each elected party visit her atAmalienborg Palace and recommend a leader for new governmentnegotiations. This person will then be summoned and appointed formalnegotiator. When the political parties in question have made an agreementfor the terms of a new government, the new Prime Minister and his/her team ofministers visit the Queen again for the official approval.

The State Council
Once a week the Danish State Council is held, where the Queen meets the PrimeMinister and Government. At this council the Queen or her deputy isinformed of the Government’s work. It is also at this meeting that theQueen signs new laws together with the responsible ministers.

The Queen’s New Year Speech
Every year on 31 December, Queen Margrethe delivers the so-called New YearSpeech, which is broadcasted live in Denmark, the Faroe Islands andGreenland. With this speech the Queen makes status over the year that haspassed. This tradition is very popular, and although it is not a politicalspeech, it may contain a remark or two of humanitarian or moral character.

Other Duties
As Head of State, it is the Queen’s duty to preside at formal State Visits,both when she makes official visits to other countries and when foreign Head ofStates visit Denmark.

The Queen of Denmark is formally the head of the Danish Army. It is alsothe Queen who formally welcomes foreign ambassadors, when they arrive inDenmark.

Additionally, the Queen performs some representative tasks in connection withanniversaries, inaugurations, premieres, award of orders, etc.

The Summer Cruise
Each year the Queen performs a so-called Summer Cruise to Danish cities –mostly with the royal yacht “Dannebrog”. At regular intervals, the summercruise also includes visits to the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Greatnumbers of people meet the Queen at her arrivals, and indicate the Queen’spopularity in the three countries.

The Queen and the Faroe Islands
Since 1380, the Faroe Islands have been part of the Kingdom of Denmark -firstas a part of Norway, then with direct connection to Denmark. Although theprogress has developed into greater political autonomy, Queen Margrethe is verypopular among the Faroese population, who have followed her since her firstvisit on the islands as a child. First with her father, King Frederik IX,and later in her capacity as Queen with her own family. The Queen’sinsight into Faroese relations and history is highly appreciated and there isno doubt that a large proportion of the population looks forward to hertraditional summer visits.

Queen Margrethe II is the Queen of the Faroese as well as the Greenlanders andDanes, no doubt about that.

Anker Eli Petersen

Technical data:

Values: stamp of 10.50DKK (also included in the souvenir sheet)

Date of issue: 04-I-2012

Author: Design: Mikael Melbye. Engraver: Martin Mörck

Stamp size: 43,39 x 53,50 mm

Perforation:

Technique: Intaglio/Offset

Printer: Post Danmark Frimærke

Christmas Seals 2011

2011-12-04T17:00:00.001Z

The Faroese artist, Edward Fuglø has designed this year's ChristmasSeals, which depict Christmas Windows.

Christmas Window

As Advent approaches, Christmas windows begin lighting up villages andneighbourhoods, representing the first sign of the quickly approaching holiday.

The tradition of telling the world that the people in your home arecelebrating Christmas is centuries old – almost as old as windows themselves inour part of the world.

In ancient times, it was common to place a candle in the window onChristmas Eve and let it burn all night until Christmas morning – if it did notburn out before then. Some women used to stay up all night to watch the burningcandle as peace descended upon the house.

Christmas night must have been cosy. The holiest night of the year in avillage covered with snow and under the glimmering stars, as bright windowscelebrated the baby Jesus – a moment far from the arduous tasks of everydaylife required just to survive.

New traditions emerged in the late nineteenth century, as more Christmasdecorations from abroad reached the Faroe Islands, such as paper cuttings andother decorations to hang in windows. At first, these were probably only foundin the fine houses of Torshavn and the larger villages, but the customs slowlyspread to the rest of the islands.

Christmas windows also changed in the middle of the twentieth centurywith the arrival of electricity. This made it possible to buy Christmas starsmade of paper with a light bulb inside, which were soon accompanied in windowsby strings of small multicoloured lights. The industrial revolution made lifemore commercial and Christmas became a part of these modern times.

Christmas went from being a holiday lasting one to two days, tosomething that lasted much longer. Today it is not uncommon to see decoratedChristmas windows from November until late January and there are virtually nolimits to how we decorate for Christmas.

The candle in the window has now become an ocean of light that sparklesand shines in many colours. Entire houses, ships, and even villages shine out,virtually sweeping away the dark and heavy days. Christmas is a children’s holidaythat also awakens the childish spirit in adults as we are moved by theChristmas spirit.

Happily and full of anticipation, we go up to the attic to get ourChristmas decorations – including something beautiful to hang in the Christmaswindow.

Edward Fuglø

Covers of the Faroe Islands XXV

2011-11-10T14:14:00.001Z

Official Posta cover sent from Tórshavn to Braga, Portugal.

Cover with stamp of 7.50kr from the 2007’s ‘Waves Energy’ stamps issuesent on 12 of February 2010.

Technical data:

Values: 7.50DKK

Date of issue: 12-II-2007

Author: Alduorka

Perforation: 13 x 13

Technique: Offset

Printer: The Lowe-Martin Group, Canada

Franking Labels 2011

2011-10-23T11:42:00.001+01:00

On 28 September 2011 four new franking labels have been issued. This isthe fourth time Faroese franking labels are being issued.

The motifs on this year's franking labels is an old rhyme, "Kú míní garði" (My cow in the alley) and they are designed by the Faroeseartist, Janus Guttesen.

The oldest nursery rhymes we know are probably poems or songs for childrenwhich were recited or sung to very simple tunes. In the Faroese dictionary wecan see that these were “old rhymes passed on by oral tradition, which weresung repeatedly for children.”

My cow in the alley
My cow in the alley,
My mare in the valley,
My steed on the cliff,
My hen on the ladder.
“Bah, bah, bah,”
Says my ewe in the shed,
“I need some grass to chew on.”

(Translation: Anker Eli Petersen)

Welcome the 8000th Visitors

2011-10-17T23:00:00.000+01:00

Aqui ficam as melhores saudações Filatélicas, para os visitantes de todo o mundo, que diariamente visitam o meu blog.

(English version)

Here are the best Philatelic greetings to visitors from all over the world who daily visit my blog.

Christmas Carols II

2011-10-07T07:13:00.000+01:00

There are songs which seem to enter people's consciousness easier than others. Songs, which for some reason touch something deep in our minds. Words, storyline and tune, which together create a familiar image - a memory, a dream or just the feeling of an idealized moment.

These are the characteristics of the classics, and this year's carols are examples of those exact qualities. Although quite different in expression, both songs manage to create impressions and images of the indefinable pleasure and anticipation that we all associate with our childhood’s Christmas

I can’t wait for Christmas to come
The motif of the 6.50 stamp is based on the modern Faroese Christmas classic, "Eg eri so spent til jóla" – “I can’t wait for Christmas to come.” The music was written by Jóhannus á Rógvu Joensen and lyrics by Ella Smith Clementsen.
The song and the story is, briefly, about the six-year old Margreta who has problems with controlling her longing and expectations for Christmas. In her restlessness she goes out for a walk and in Tórshavn’s old café, she meets a pixie-girl, who takes her out on adventures that only six year olds can experience.

Ella Smith Clementsen b. 1952 is one of the most famous children's authors on the Faroes. She has written and translated a large amount of children's books, children's songs and pieces for radio and television and works as a freelance writer. In 1994, Ella recieved Tórshavn town council children's book prize.

In 1989, Ella Smith Clementsen together with composer and musician Jóhannus á Rógvu Joensen b. 1959. Ella had written some children's songs which Jóhannus set to music. When Jóhannus approached her about writing a few extra songs, Ella wrote "I can’t wait for Christmas to come," which has since proved to be one of the most popular Christmas and children's songs ever on the Faroe Islands.

The rest is history. The six-year Margreta who was looking forward to getting a new dress and went out on an adventure with the pixie girl, walked straight into the Faroese cultural consciousness and has stayed there ever since. A small figure with great symbolic importance for the modern view of Christmas.

I rejoice every Christmas Eve
131 years before Ella Smith Clementsen sat by the window and wrote her little Christmas song, another woman was doing exactly the same.
On Christmas Eve 1858, 26 year old Marie Wexelsen (1832-1911) sat in the parents' kitchen in Sukkestad, Norway, waiting for the Christmas guests to arrive. As she sat there and looked out the window, she came to think of her childhood Christmas, and began in her mind to formulate a Christmas song. A few days earlier she had completed a short story "Kjetil - A little Christmas present for the child", and the poem she puzzled with, should be the introduction to the story.

The story of Kjetil was published in 1859 and subsequently in several new editions. But while few people today know the story itself, the poem in the introduction became one of the greatest Nordic Christmas classics, namely the song "Jeg er saa glad hver julekveld". The song has been translated into all Nordic languages and also to Faroese titled "Eg gleðist so hvørt jólakvøld" by Dean Jákup Dahl.

It's hard to imagine a Christmas without the warm singing of childlike faith, and the beautiful picture of mother who walks around in the house and lighten all candles. For life, for family, her own child and the Infant Jesus.

Marie Wexelsen was also a child of her time. She lived at home with parents until their death, and then, from 1880, in Christiania (now Oslo), where she was a teacher at Hamar. In 1890 Marie and her older sister Rikki moved to Trondheim, where they ran a small school. Marie, who remained unmarried throughout life, was strongly influenced by the Grundtvigian outlook, which broke with the dismal Christianity, and called for educating and informing the people. She wrote three novels, three children's books, a series of poems and various articles on social affairs, religion and language policy issues. One senses a protest against society's oppression of women in her writings, but like so many other women of her time, her involvement in social conditions was partly rooted in a bright and positive Christianity.

When Marie Wexelsen died in Trondheim in 1911, children with lighted candles sang: "I rejoice every Christmas Eve" at her funeral.

Two very different songs, but with so many similarities. Wexelsens childlike joy over the message of Christmas and the little Christ child - or Smith Clementsens captivating tale about the girl who looks forward to getting a new dress and her travel in the mythical universe of Christmas. Both are classics and remind us to stay in the holiday’s purest form - Christmas seen through the hopeful eyes of a child.

Anker Eli Petersen

Technical data:

Values: stamps of 6.50DKK and 10.50DKK

Date of issue: 28-IX-2011

Author: Anker Eli Petersen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: Enschedé, Netherlands

Vintage cars

2011-10-04T07:12:00.000+01:00

Each vintage car featured on our stamps has its own unique story. The black lorry was the first vehicle to arrive in the Faeroe Islands in 1922. The red bus that operated between Vestmanna, Kvívík and Kollafjørður was converted from a tanker and the home-made ‘De Luxe Model’ on the third stamp was the first car on the island to have a cassette player and loudspeakers.

The first car on the Faeroe Islands

The first car arrived on the island on 6 May 1922 when Johannes Olsen and Júst Sivertsen from Tórshavn bought a Ford TT truck from Wenzel Petersen and Vilhelm Nielsen, who had a forge in Quillingsgård in Tórshavn.

The car was ferried to the Faroe Islands on the DFDS vessel S/S Island. As the ship was unable to dock, the car was hoisted onto a yacht, which unloaded the cargo at Kongebro marina in Tórshavn.

The car caused a sensation when it arrived in Tórshavn because the islanders had never seen a car before. The Faroe Islands had horse-drawn carriages at the time, although not many. Arthur Brend, however, was the first to own a ‘motorised’ vehicle on the island. In the autumn of 1921 he purchased a motorbike, which received a great deal of press in the local newspapers at the time.

Back in 1922, nobody on the quayside knew how to drive a car. It was therefore pushed up to the forge in Quillingsgård. A few days later the newspapers were able to report that the car had made several journeys between Tórshavn and the sanatorium in Hoydalar.

Morris Commercial Cars Ltd.England Model 1929

This commercial vehicle arrived in Kvívík on 14 June 1934. Originally from Hillerød’s Police District and owned by Nordsjællands Benzin Co., it had been without licence plates for several years. When the vehicle arrived on the island it had no body, i.e. the cab and hood were normal but there was no load or cab on the vehicle.

The plan was to take the cab from the Chevrolet bus in service at the time and fit it onto the vehicle’s chassis. The vehicle had functioned as a tanker in Zealand and as a lorry for a time.

However, these plans came to nothing, as Fritleif Johannesen from Tórshavn had heard about the vehicle and had travelled to Kvívík to take a closer look at it. His idea was to build a cab on top of the vehicle, i.e. an extension to the existing cab. He planned to build a so-called ‘omnibus’. His plans went ahead and on 12 June 1935 the vehicle was registered and approved as a mail and passenger bus between Vestmanna, Kvívík and Kollafjørður.

‘De Luxe Model’ built on the Faeroe Islands

In the mid-1950s a home-made Faroese car drove through the streets of Tórshavn. It belonged to the Norwegian Almar Nordhaug, who built the car together with his colleagues at the barrel factory in Tórshavn.

It was not unusual to convert cars in the Faroe Islands in the mid-20th century, but the car they built at the factory was unique and far ahead of its time.

This was the first car on The Faroe Islands to have a cassette player and no fewer than four loudspeakers. The car generated quite a lot of attention when it attended horse shows because the music disturbed the horses and made the riders furious.

When Nordhaug moved back to Norway he took the car, which was on Faroese number plates, with him and continued to drive it in Norway for several years. Unfortunately, the car is no longer in existence. The last reliable report we had said that it was being used as part of a decorative display in a furniture store in Oslo.

Sources:“Postur í Føroyum”, Vilhelm Johannesen, 2000, “Bilar”, Magnus Gunnarsson, interview with Viggo Johannesen.

Technical data:

Values: three stamps of 13.00DKK

Date of issue: 28-IX-2011

Author: Edward Fuglø

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: Enschedé, Netherlands

SEPAC 2011

2011-10-02T18:25:00.001+01:00

Connection to the Landscape

Landscape photography is universally appreciated by all, in part because all humans have a connection to the physical world our ancestors have walked for millennia. Of course, this connection to the environment in which we live is felt stronger by some, especially by outdoor photographers and by people who live more dependently off the land. The Faroese people, for example, have this deeper connection to the natural world; it is inescapable and unforgettable wherever one goes among the Faeroe Islands. There are no big cities to get mentally lost in and forget about what lies beyond – only picturesque villages in idyllic settings nestled along the ocean and backed by mountains. As a professional landscape and adventure photographer myself, I spend much of my life in the outdoors, exploring the land via my feet or via my camera, and thus I feel deeply connected to nature as it provides part of life's meaning to me. I would lose touch with reality if I stayed away from the landscape too long.

The Faeroe Islands are among the most visually and spiritually alluring islands I've visited on my travels to many wilderness places in the world, and part of what makes them special is the feeling of closeness to the land that they generate, being small windswept islands in the middle of the vast and cold North Atlantic Ocean. I first saw the Faeroe Islands from the deck of the large Smyril Line ferry while travelling between Iceland and Norway, on route to photograph the Aurora Borealis of the Arctic night sky. What initially impressed me were the striated layers upon layers of the pyramidal shaped mountains rising out of the middle of the ocean. I had never seen such visually unique and appealing mountains such as these, and immediately felt the land calling to me, beckoning me to come explore and stand on its narrow mountain ridges with the white-capped ocean channels surrounding me on all sides. I stayed for a mere week in the Faroe Islands, on my return to Iceland after surviving week-long solo snowshoe and ski trips in -22°C weather in some wilderness of northern Norway. The wind, though blowing fiercely, was warm, moderated by the ocean waters surrounding, and I felt true freedom as I wandered the Faroese hills. But I also felt secure, unlike in Norway, looking down from the mountainsides at the idyllic little fishing villages nestled cozily into each cove along the shoreline. Ubiquitous tunnels brought me through mountains and dipped me under the sea, only to have me re-emerge in a totally new and enchanting valley, on another island altogether.

The photos you see here and on a Faroese postage stamp illustrate my passion in life to explore and photograph our world's wilderness areas. Photography also helps me to slow down in my wanderings and notice the details and wonder at the beauty that nature exhibits every day, all over the world, whether anyone is there to witness it or not. A main goal in my photography is to make the viewer of the photograph feel like they are really in the scene, and not just looking at a photograph, and I feel the encompassing panoramic format helps to achieve this feel. I believe that if a viewer feels they are part of the scene, they will connect with it, and the wilderness landscape it depicts, better. Connection with the landscape then leads a person to value it, which leads to true appreciate and even better connection to the natural world.

The Faroe Islands I am sure allure many travellers and residents, as they still do to me. I can only imagine the idyllic fields of wild flowers and green grassy mountainsides of summertime sweeping down into the ocean. In summer 2011 I'm leading a photography workshop and tour circumnavigating Iceland, another enchanting and friendly yet wild island, which I've fallen in love with. But I can feel the Faeroe Islands calling out to me again across the Atlantic Ocean; and if I can hear their call all the way over here in North America, don't you think I might feel their call to me even more strongly and loudly, while I sit atop a mountain of the East Fjords of Iceland, looking out across the Atlantic to the east, knowing what lies beyond that watery horizon?

Jonathan Esper

Technical data:

Values: one stamps of 10.50DKK

Date of issue: 28-IX-2011

Author: Jonathan Esper

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: LMGroup, Canada

Juniper Berry and Crowberry

2011-09-11T11:33:00.000+01:00

Of the more than 400 species of plants that make up the wild flowers of the Faroe Islands, only a few woody plants occur. Two of these ligneous plants are the juniper berry and crowberry.

Common juniper (Juniperus communis subsp. alpina)

Today, several species of conifer and shrub grow in the Faroe Islands. Most of these have been imported and planted here. The only indigenous plant species in the same family as conifers is the juniper. In some areas, the names “juniper” and “juniper berry” are used indiscriminately to describe these plants.

The juniper is a low-growing, evergreen shrub. Its needles measure approximately 1 cm and have a light, grey-green colour. Juniper is normally a dioecious species, which means that it has separate male and female plants. The male flower is yellow and oblong with an abundance of stamens. The female flower is greenish in colour, making it difficult to see. The fruit consists of so-called berry cones that take two to three years to mature. The berry cones are green in the first year, and mature in the second and third year to a deep blue colour.

During the period after the last Ice Age, juniper was relatively widespread throughout the Faroe Islands. As the climate became wetter, the juniper bushes gradually disappeared. Some 5,000 years ago, however, another change in the climate occurred and the growing conditions for juniper improved. In many areas, juniper stumps can be found in strata from this period. Around 600 BC, however, the climate became wetter again and juniper dispersal came to a complete halt. This decline continued when the islands became inhabited by people and, today, juniper can only be found on the island of Svínoy and a small number of other locations in the Faroes.

Juniper trees are low growing and, therefore, cannot be used as timber. Nevertheless, they have a number of other useful purposes. In the Faroe Islands, juniper was used for smoking meat and, a type of rope made of twisted juniper stems was found in the Viking excavation in Kvívík.

The berries, which are not actually berries but seed cones, are also used as a spice and medication. For example, gin derives its distinctive flavour from immature juniper berries.

Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)

Crowberry is a genus of dwarf shrub that is commonly found in the Faroe Islands. It grows particularly well on dry heathland and is also among the most common plants on moorland. As with the juniper bush, the crowberry is an evergreen which means that the leaves remain on the plant throughout the winter.

Two subspecies of crowberry grow in the Faroe Islands: common crowberry (Empetrum nigrum subs. nigrum) and mountain crowberry (Empetrum nigrum subs. hermaphroditum). Mountain crowberry is found on all the islands, while the common crowberry only grows on the island of Streymoy and the southern islands. In Scandinavia, common crowberry only grows in Finland, Denmark and Southern Sweden, while mountain crowberry grows in Finland and the greater part of Sweden and Norway.

Common crowberry and mountain crowberry are very similar to each other but the crucial difference is that the common crowberry is a dioecious species, like the common juniper. Mountain crowberry, on the other hand, has hermaphrodite flowers.

The stems of the common crowberry are low and trailing. On the lower part of the bush the stems are mat-forming, making the common crowberry closer to the ground than the mountain crowberry which has more upright stems.

The first pink flowers begin to develop around April and May, while the familiar glossy black crowberries mature in July and August. Consumption of the ripe berries by people as well as animals plays an important part in the distribution of the seeds. When eaten by birds, it takes some time for the seeds to pass through the bird’s digestive system. During this period, it is likely that the bird will have moved some distance away from the original crowberry plant, thus ensuring its seeds are dispersed over a wide area.

In the Faroe Islands, crowberries are picked and eaten raw, cooked in porridge or used to make jam.

Jana Mikkelsen

Technical data:

Values: two stamps of 0.50 and 6.50DKK

Date of issue: 1-IX-2011

Author: Edward Fuglø

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: LMGroup, Canada

Art: Frida Zachariassen

2011-05-08T17:59:00.001+01:00

Frida Zachariassen – a distinctive painter from Klaksvík

Frida Zachariassen was one of the most distinctive artists in the Faeroe Islands during the 1950s. She developed her own personal style, characterised by geometric figures in compositions portraying landscapes, towns, villages and people. Sometimes the colours in Frida Zachariassen’s paintings are clear and strong, but they also often feature blurred and thin colour tones; in some of the paintings, earth tones dominate. In the 1930s and 1940s, her painting style focused on content and emotions leaning towards the romantic, with replication of the grandeur of nature, the sublime and the eternal. Around 1950, Frida Zachariassen began painting more abstractly. Landscapes and people were dissolved and reconstructed with squares, stripes and triangles. The main works are constructions made of lines and figures in colours such as saturated green and cool blue and grey, sometimes accompanied by black lines. Despite this abstraction and organisation, Frida Zachariassen’s paintings were never non-figurative. Her paintings always depict something recognisable.

In Frida Zachariassen’s landscape paintings, the relationship between the land and people is clear and meaningful. People populate her landscapes and they are often embedded in the landscape. The people in her paintings are active; they work as fishermen, prepare their boats to set sail, unload, walk on fell paths, go to the market, butcher pilot whales, harvest straw and herd sheep.

Frida Zachariassen was from Klaksvík and lived there for the majority of her life. She was born in 1912 and died in 1992. Her mother was Magdalena Jacobsen, who was from Klaksvík’s Uppsalar neighbourhood, and her father was Jógvan Rasmussen, who was called by the place he came from, Jógvan í Grótinum, located by Skálafjørður on Eysturoy. Frida Zachariassen grew up in a busy home with nine siblings and a father who was the leading figure in Klaksvík at the start of the twentieth century.

In 1927, Frida Zachariassen completed her middle school examination with good marks and in 1937 she graduated from the Merchants’ School in Copenhagen. She also wanted an education in art. She wrote about this in the book Strev í málrøkt (Efforts in tending language):
“As a youth, I was most interested in working with paintings and getting an education in Copenhagen. But it quickly became clear that one could not live from making “art”. Despite the fact that Faroese could easily gain admission to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts at that time, there were so few that four years there seemed to be of no use and far too expensive. Therefore, I chose a business school education and then began working at an office.”

In other words, it was impossible for her to go into a field that could not provide an income. Instead, she found a means of survival and made art in her free time.

During the war, she worked at the offices of the merchant and shipping company, J. F. Kjølbro in her home town. In May of 1944, she married Guttormur Zachariassen, but their marriage was short-lived. He died in a wreck in February 1945. After the war, she returned to Copenhagen, where she worked at an office until 1949. Of the drawings held at Norðoya Listafelag (the Northern Islands Art Association), many are from this period. They indicate that she went to the Danish Museum of Art to draw. When she returned to Klaksvík, she oversaw the region’s health insurance for more than twenty years.

Frida Zachariassen’s production of paintings was greatest in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, her eyesight diminished, so she began writing instead of painting.

Many of her paintings are from Klaksvík and the surrounding region; these include landscapes, portraits and images of working life. The colours often contrast: red and green, blue and green, red and blue, giving her paintings a sense of both coldness and warmth. It was also during the 1950s that she developed her special cubist style. Meanwhile, she began to travel extensively to develop her art.

The rhythmic patterns and light colours that mark the paintings “Kona” (“Woman”) and “Urtagarður” (“The Garden”) show the splendour of Frida Zachariassen’s unique style. She created art featuring cubist forms that concentrate her expression while giving it form and depth.

Malan Marnersdóttir

Technical data:

Values: two stamps of 6.00 and 26.00DKK

Date of issue: 26-IV-2011

Author: Frida Zachariassen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: LMGroup, Canada

Art: Bergithe Johannessen

2011-05-02T07:20:00.000+01:00

Bergithe Johannessen – watercolour painter from Vestmanna

Bergithe Christine Johannessen (1905-95) was the first Faroese to be admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Born in Vestmanna, she was the daughter of Madgalene and Niels Skaale Johannessen, merchant and grocer. Bergithe Johannessen was 18 years old when she travelled to London to study painting. She went to the Sidscup School of Art from 1923 until 1925 and specialised in watercolour painting. She then moved to Copenhagen, where she attended the School of Painting at Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1925 until 1931. After completing her studies, she continued living in Copenhagen, where she worked as a porcelain painter at the Royal Danish Porcelain Factory. In 1939, she married semi-skilled worker Arnold Rönnow Torp – Bergithe Johannessen was her artist name.

She travelled frequently to the Faroe Islands to paint and she participated in many Olaj Exhibitions from 1956 until 1980. She was also represented at the major exhibitions organised by the Faroe Islands Art Association in the 1950s: Faroese Art at the Free Exhibition Building in Copenhagen in 1995; Faroese Art at Iceland’s Museum of Art, Listasavn Íslands in 1961 and Faroese Art at the Bergen Art Association in 1970. The Faroe Islands Museum of Art has ten of her watercolours in its collection.

Bergithe Johannessen primarily painted landscapes; colourist watercolours featuring land, sea and skies. Sometimes the paintings have houses and sheep, but never people.

“Skærfyldt strand” (“Glowing beach”) is a watercolour painted in 1964. A green summer landscape unfolds in the foreground. In the middle of the picture is a fence and a sheep standing close to the edge of the rocks. The fence draws the eye towards the middle distance, from the edge of the beach, light, and rocks into the inlet, which takes over. On the other side of the inlet, another rocky landscape can be seen off in the distance, with thick green foliage under a heavy fog that hangs in the background.

“From Nolsø” is also a watercolour from 1964. Here, the foreground is split. On the right is an open view to the water in the middle distance; on the left, rocks rise up and block the view. Some of the forms in the foreground are similar to the other watercolour, but here the middle distance is painted more intricately. A stone dyke runs from the rocks to a field of grass. What appears to be driftwood along the dyke creates depth in the picture. A blue-grey cape spreads across nearly the entire middle distance, separating it from the background, which is a distant landscape on the other side of a strait. The sky is a heavy, light grey plane with scattered indications of clouds, emphasising the enclosed look. The inlet in the foreground is separated from the strait in the middle distance, which ends at the heavily clouded sky. Against the grey and white, the green colours in the grass and blue water create suspense in the painting.

Bergithe Johannessen also painted oil paintings. The Faroe Islands Museum of Art has one of these paintings from 1932. The main scene is a stream winding through a green landscape with grass hanging over the stream banks. A brown fell rises up fills the entire middle distance. In the background, a thin veil of fog covers the top and opens occasionally to reveal a light sky.

In the catalogue from the 1955 exhibition in Copenhagen, the author William Heinesen wrote that Bergithe Johannessen made “the fine, gentle watercolour her speciality”. In the Weilbach encyclopaedia of artists, the artist Bárður Jákupsson writes that she mastered the technique of watercolours in a brilliant and artistic way and that she portrayed atmospheres in the Faroese landscape, with a particular focus on villages and coasts.

Bergithe Johannessen watercolours and oil paintings are fine representatives of Faroese art from the mid-twentieth century. Her paintings portray landscapes, villages and the sea with empathy and a precise sense of colour and form.

Malan Marnersdóttir

Technical data:

Values: two stamps of 2.00 and 24.00DKK

Date of issue: 26-IV-2011

Author: Bergithe Johannessen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: LMGroup, Canada

Welcome the 7000th Visitors

2011-04-29T07:07:00.000+01:00

Aqui ficam as melhores saudações Filatélicas, para os visitantes de todo o mundo, que diariamente visitam o meu blog.

(English version)

Here are the best Philatelic greetings to visitors from all over the world who daily visit my blog.

Mountain flowers

2011-04-29T07:02:00.000+01:00

Red campion, Silene dioica

The plant is widely known as red campion, while its botanical name is Silene dioica. Red campion is a member of the carnation family, of the genus Silene. In addition to the red campion, its relative the moss campion (Silene acaulis) grows on the Faeroe Islands. The Faroese name bjargablóma (mountain flower) is given to the flower because it is a mountain-dwelling wild flower that grows in attractive dense cushions with pink and occasionally white flowers. Only in the Faeroe Islands is the word ‘mountain’ linked to the plant’s name, so the Faroese name is accepted as being original. Red campion grows in steep rocky slopes and in inaccessible lower-mountain areas. Red campion is a rare plant. It is not found on any of the smaller islands or on Sandoy or Eysturoy. It is considered to be an indigenous Faroese plant, i.e. it was brought to the islands by the wind, ocean currents or birds and not by human activity. Red campion is an herbaceous perennial and can grow to just over a metre in height. It flowers in July. The vertical stalks grow from a slender, creeping stock. The plant has two kinds of hairy leaves. The upper leaves are pointed and without stalks while the lower leaves have long, winged stalks and are oval-shaped. The red and occasionally white petals are large and the flower has a central ring of flaps. Red campion is a dioecious species, with separate male and female plants. The male plant has a 10-veined calyx and the female plant has a 20-veined calyx. The fruit is an ovoid capsule that opens up at the apex with ten teeth, which curve back.

Wood Cranesbill, Geranium sylvaticum

The plant is widely known as Wood Cranesbill, its Faroese name “litingarsortugræs” (colour black grass) and its botanical name is Geranium sylvaticum. It is the only species of Cransebill found on the Faeroe Islands. Its Faroese name refers to the fact that the plant is used to make natural black dye. The Icelandic name also refers to the plant’s natural black dye. The name of the plant in other countries derives from the special five-sectioned stalk, which looks like the head and beak of a crane when the petals have fallen off. Hence its common Danish name “Storknæb” (storksbill). Similar plants in the same genus are commonly called cranesbills and heron’s bill. Storksbill grows on the Faroe Islands. It is considered to be an indigenous Faroese plant, i.e. it was brought to the islands by the wind, ocean currents or birds and not by human activity. It is not found on the smallest islands and is rarely found on Suðuroy or Sandoy but is common on Streymoy and Eysturoy. It grows on low-lying land and is never found growing on heights greater than 300 metres. It is a perennial plant that flowers in June and July. It can grow up to 50 cm in height and has a vertical stalk with long hairs at the top and short hairs at the bottom. The leaves are very large and divided into fine leaflets. The flowers are typically blue and sometimes red. Fully-grown, the flowers are 10–18 mm in diameter and grow in pairs. In general, the plant is dioecious. It has five blue or red petals, and the centre of the flower is light, almost white. The flower and seed pod is divided into five single fruits.

Anna Maria Fosaa

Technical data:

Values: two stamps of 14.00 and 20.00DKK

Date of issue: 26-IV-2011

Author: Astrid Andreasen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: Cartor Security, France

Europa 2011 - Forests

2011-04-26T18:50:00.000+01:00

Forest Growth on the Faeroe Islands
Forests - not exactly what one associates with the Faeroe Islands - rather the contrary. The North Atlantic archipelago is known for its treeless appearance. Climatic and geographic conditions, human influence and centuries of sheep-breeding have left the islands practically treeless.

Forests of the Past
But it has not always been that way. If we go back to the volcanic period millions of years ago, we note that there have been periods of extensive forest growth. Charred wood residues, and prints from leaves and needles are found in the coal strata in Suðuroy and Mykines. These finds indicate more favourable times on the mini-continent, which the current Faeroe then were part of. Cypress, yew and juniper, giant sequoia and various kinds of deciduous trees - it's hard to imagine today.

After the Ice Age and the Settlement
When the Faroes were colonized, there were some natural woods on the islands. The only indigenous conifer was juniper, which is thought to have been quite common back then. Today this wood only appears in its original form, on the island Svínoy, but we have found roots of juniper in the peat layers on other islands as well.

Of deciduous trees were Dwarf Willow, Woolly Willow and Arctic Willow quite widespread, but Woolly Willow and the Arctic Willow are almost extinct because of the extensive sheep farming.

Birch has also grown wildly in the Faroe Islands since the last ice age, but rather dispersed - and disappeared after the colonization.

We also know that hazel has grown in the Faeroe Islands around year 1000, but whether it was a native Faroese tree or it was planted by the early settlers, is uncertain. The hazel tree disappeared again around the 13th century when the climate became colder.

Plantations
There has, through time, probably always been a few trees at farms and in gardens on the Faroes, but not in any large scale. In 1885 there was an attempt to replant trees on a large scale outside Tórshavn, but this failed. In 1903 they tried again and this time it worked. This plantation became what we today call “Viðarlundin” in Tórshavn - a recreational area in a valley, which today is centrally located near Tórshavn City. In 1969 the plantation was expanded and again in 1979, and is now the biggest "forest" in the Faroes. Besides the plantation is also a grove surrounding the former TB sanatorium in Hoydalar, now high school, and on the field called Debesartrøð, where the Provincial Library and the Faroese University is located.

In December 1988 a violent hurricane-ravaged the islands. Wind speeds were up over 60 meters per second and the hurricane caused extensive damage on houses and trees. A very large proportion of the trees in the Plantation in Tórshavn were destroyed in the hurricane winds. The subject of the 10 DKK stamp depicts a cluster of these trees which are still lying on an incline. Extensive work has since been done to restore the plantation, and today it appears as a very beautiful area with young and old trees.

Besides in Tórshavn more plantations were planted in the early 20th century on the surrounding islands. In 1913, for example, the almost equally famous plantation in the small settlement Selatræ was planted, and the following year the plantation in the village Kunoy, which is depicted on the 12 DKK stamp. The plantation in Kunoy was originally larger than it is today, 17,000 square metres were planted - but today only approx. 7,800 square metres are covered by trees, and the grove is thus the smallest plantation in the islands. One oddity of the plantation in Kunoy is that it is planted around a giant rock, which in ancient times probably has fallen from the mountain Urðarfjall above the plantation. The rock, called Eggjarsteinur, can also be seen on the stamp.

There have since been planted several groves around the Faroes. In Vágur and Tvøroyri on Suðuroy - in the villages Miðvágur and Sandavágur on Vágoy - in Mikladalur on Kalsoy - and also the beautiful park, "Uti í Grøv", by the city Klaksvík on Borðoy.

Anker Eli Petersen

Technical data:

Values: three stamps of 10.00 and 12.00DKK

Date of issue: 26-IV-2011

Author: Anker Eli Petersen and Svanna Oknadal

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: LMGroup, Canada

Annika í Dímun

2011-04-06T07:31:00.000+01:00

Annika of Dímun killed her husband and took one of the farmhands as her lover. She was condemned to death because of her crime but managed to get three men on the island of Dímun to guard and protect her and prevent the authorities from capturing her. The island was defended for three years until one of the men betrayed her and Annika was captured and drowned in Tórshavn harbour.

There is some uncertainty as to the identity of the real Annika of Dímun. The legend says she was the daughter of the Sheriff and niece to the priest on Sandur. She may well have been, but even though her family were fine, they weren't necessarily good people because the legend explains that Annika's father lost her in a game of cards to a peasant on Dímun. Even though she was already engaged to another man she was forced to live on Dímun. If this is correct we can understand her desire to take revenge on her unwanted husband. But whether she actually did kill him is another question.

A woman named Anna Isaksdatter, was drowned in Tórshavn harbour in 1664. She had been condemned for incest, in her case because it was said she had borne children from two men who were brothers.

Jakob Jakobsen believes this was the very same Annika of Dímun. But the legend says nothing about incest and the court case says nothing about a murdered husband. But Jakob Jakobsen may well be correct, because legend is rarely reliable or without error. The death penalty was still imposed in the Faroe Islands in the 17th century. So that part could be correct.

The legend does not place the father in a favourable light and sympathies lie with Annika even though she killed her husband. Not only had the father lost her in a game of cards, he also mocked her. "What dress shall I wear?" she asked her father as she was taken to Tórshavn. "It doesn't matter," he is supposed to have said. "It's not a wedding you're invited to."

The legend's pity for her is evident in the way it describes how she cared for her son. When the men dragged her away she shouted that they must not forget to give her son his usual cup of morning milk.

It is notable that the woman is the only one among the men in the legend: her father the Sheriff, her peasant husband on Dímun, her lover who failed to defend the island well enough and not least the foreman of the men who came to take her away. A legend says that the foreman was her brother, who would have his own death penalty dropped if he could capture his sister.

Drowning Annika wasn't easy. Her beautiful flowing hair kept her afloat and so her plaits had to be cut before she drowned. The legend describes her as astonishingly beautiful, full of love for her son - a woman who was betrayed by those she trusted.

A sad fate indeed.

Eyðun Andreassen

Caption:
There are two places where it is possible to climb onto Dímun - at the east side of the island and on the west side. Two men guarded these locations.
Annika could defend the island for three years and no unwelcome visitor managed to get onto the island, be they the authorities or otherwise. But in the end, her guards failed her.

Technical data:

Values: three stamps of 10.00 DKK

Date of issue: 21-II-2011

Author: Edward Fuglø

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: Southern Colour Print, New Zealand

Cats

2011-04-05T07:27:00.000+01:00

Cats on the Faroes

"The cat lies by the door dead, and can eat neither butter nor bread." So begins an old Faroese rhyme about a poor cat that is so in love that it has completely lost its appetite. Nobody knows when cats reached the Faroe Islands, or how many cats there are, as they aren't registered. Cats don't crop up much in Faroese historical records, though Clerk E.A. Bjørk writes in Færøsk bygderet (The Faroese Village) that a number of cats died in 1778 and 1779 as a result of cat plague.

Cats have lived around people for many thousands of years, and are the world's most popular pets. They're also the most popular pets on the Faroes. One reason that cats are so popular is that they fit in readily with a modern lifestyle. Cats don't need much care, can be left on their own, and pretty much look after themselves. A cat sat on the widow sill watching something or other with its large almond-shaped eyes for hours at a time is a familiar image. Cat owners have often speculated as to what the cat finds so interesting and what it is that only it can see outside. Puss in Boots is surely also a tale that's familiar to many. By using his cunning, Puss in Boots does no less for his poor owner than help him to the kingdom and the princess' hand.
The Faroese domestic cat is a small animal that is little different to wild cats. It's happiest when eating, sleeping and playing. It can stand high temperatures, loves the sun and the night and is clean and agile, which it is why it is said that it always lands on its feet. The domestic cat is a mixed race. Its hair is short and often features several patterns and colours - normally including white. The most common colouration is black and white, although tabby cats and brown cats are also common. Plus, they can be any thing from one colour to many or be striped. The majority of pure-bred cats on the Faroes are long-haired, such as the Norwegian Forest Cat, Birman, Maine Coon and Persian.

Cats are apt to arouse people's feelings. Some people are terrified of cats, and can sense them before they enter a house, other people will refuse to enter a house with a cat in it. In the Middle Ages the cat was associated with mysticism and evil, and black cats were associated with witches and killed as a result. In Ancient Egypt, however, cats were considered holy and were worshipped as gods. In Nordic mythology the goddess of love, beauty and fertility, Freyja, travels on a carriage pulled by two cats. Some think these were the predecessors of the Norwegian Forest Cat.

Cats arouse different feelings in different people because they have a charismatic personality all of their own. Cats are affectionate, mild, loyal and humble but can also be devious, mischievous and arrogant. As the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud once said, time spent with cats is never wasted. Cats can follow you around for an entire day, only to turn their back on you the day after. A cat can drive you mad, staring at you every evening with its searching eyes only to disappear from view for days at a time. Plus, having a live, furry, heat mat draped over you when it takes its time, relaxes completely and massages your soul with its peaceful purring song is real therapy.

There can't be many who are immune to the charms of the two begging eyes of a little round fluffy kitten, or the the dangerous begging eyes of Puss in Boots in the animated film Shrek. When these eyes look deep into you, you get the feeling that whatever they tell you is true. If at that point, a cat has decided to love you there's not much you can do. You don't own the cat but become part of its life; the cat could be said to own you! The cat has been a fixture in the lives of many families and has brought pleasure to child and adults alike, precisely because it is as it is. As renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci put it, "the smallest feline is a masterpiece."

Durita L. Jóansdóttir

Technical data:

Values: stamps of 6.00 DKK and 10.00 DKK

Date of issue: 21-II-2011

Author: Edward Fuglø

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: OeSD, Austria

Traditional Women's professions

2011-04-04T07:28:00.000+01:00

The Midwife
When talking about traditional female professions, the midwife probably counts as the oldest. Since the earliest days of mankind, experienced women acted as midwives for other women, and there, as well as in other disciplines, probably have been certain women in the clan, village or local community, which practically had it as a career.

On the Faroe Islands has ancient concept nærkona "(near/close woman), which originally acted as midwife - and probably also as the nurse in the neighbourhood. These were self-taught women with some knowledge of midwifery, but without much knowledge of complications. After the regular midwife came, these women often acted as their helpers, or assisted at the birth if the midwife did not arrive in time.

In his "Reports from a Travel in Faroe Islands 1781 - 1782" Jens Chr Svabo writes that there are midwives in the Faroe Islands at the time, but that they lack basic skills. He suggests that Faroese women should be educated in midwifery in Denmark - but it is uncertain whether this actually happened.

In the late 19th Century, several Faroese women went to Denmark to train in the midwifery profession. Back in the Faroes they were placed different islands and had their own districts of responsibility. In those days women gave birth at home, and the midwife had to be ready at all times to go to women who were about to deliver their babies. The infrastructure was not developed back then, and there are many harrowing stories of midwives, who have travelled over mountains or have been sailed across the sea in rain and sleet and snow storms. There are even stories of midwives, who were heavily pregnant themselves, but still had to go out in the storm to assist other women during childbirth.

In the mid-sixties it became common for women to give birth in the three hospitals in Tórshavn Klaksvík and Tvøroyri. This made it easier for midwives and much safer for the mothers, since there was also access to medical assistance.

We have chosen to bring pictures of two famous Faroese midwives with children they have delivered. The first is Ebba Wiberg, who, up to late seventies, was a midwife on Suðuroy. The other is Astrid av Rógvu, who throughout her adult life worked as midwife in Søborg, Denmark, where she had her own maternity clinic.

The Nurse
Just like the midwife the modern nurse roots back to the woman's traditional role as the caretaker for the sick and weak in the family. There probably has not been much distinction between care and treatment, and in most neighbourhoods, there have been people, mostly women, who knew little about healthcare.

In medieval Europe there was some form of organized nursing around the monasteries, where monks and nuns took care of the sick and infirm. The monasteries built a fairly extensive knowledge of nursing, but the purge of the monasteries during the Reformation in the sixteenth century was a major setback for nursing in the reformed countries.

During the time that followed, nursing was performed by uneducated women in the few hospitals, and it was not until the first half of the nineteenth century, that proper care of patients was organized. At that time the Deaconess Movement started in Germany, where mostly unmarried women from the bourgeoisie received lessons in patient care.

In 1860 the legendary Florence Nightingale created The Nightingale School in London, partly inspired by Deaconess Movement. This is considered as the foundation for the modern nurse training.

Concurrently with the development the medical science, the need for professionally trained nursing personnel arose. In the late nineteenth century they started to educate nurses in Denmark, and under pressure from, among others, The Danish Nurses Organization, founded in 1899, nursing was chartered in 1933.

The Faroe Islands followed the trend a little later than the Danish. After the Land-Surgeon, based in Tórshavn, for centuries had been the only medical officer in the Faroes, the first district medical officer was stationed on Suðuroy in 1852. In 1872 a doctor was stationed in Klaksvík and the Northern Islands, and in 1883 another one in Vestmanna, who was responsible for the Western Isles, Norðstreymoy and Norðeysturoy.

The centuries-old hospital in Argir near Tórshavn, which primarily had served as a leper colony, was replaced by Færø County Hospital in 1829. This hospital was in use until it was replaced by the new Queen Alexandrine's Hospital in 1924. In 1898 a hospital was built in Klaksvík which served the Northern Islands. In 1904 a hospital was built in Tvøroyri on Suðuroy. These three hospitals have since expanded to their current standard and are still in use. In 1908 a tuberculoses sanatorium was established in Hoydalar at Tórshavn, which was used until the early sixties.

It goes without saying that the establishment of hospitals and sanatorium created a need for qualified nurses. The first trained nurse on the Faroes was deaconess Mette Cathrine Thomsen, who worked in Tórshavn 1897 to 1915, mostly at the Faroe County Hospital. She was later joined by several other nurses, Danish and Faroese, and it became common practice that young Faroese women travelled to Denmark to train as nurses. In 1960 a nursing school was established at Landssjúkrahúsið (National Hospital) in Tórshavn, which has trained Faroese nurses ever since.

Besides working in hospitals, other forms of nursing posts have been established, which cover home care, elderly care, school nursing etc.

On the stamp, we have decided to bring two images from Klaksvíkar Sjúkrahús. The background motif is from 1919. The man in bed is a young Norwegian, Monrad Jacobsen, who was seriously injured when he was about to unload coal from a Norwegian freighter to a whaling station at Fossánes on Borðoy. The woman on the left is Elsebeth Fr. Malena Johansen b. 1887. The woman on the right, in nurse uniform, is probably Oluffa Bærentsen, who at the time was head nurse at the hospital.

The other picture, the woman with a child, shows one of the institutions in Klaksvíkar Sjúkrahús. Petra Oluffa Jensina Fredrikka Hansen was born on 24 October 1895, a month after her father was lost with the ship "Bikuben". She was named after the crew of the ship, hence the long name. This was around the time when the hospital in Klaksvík was built, and Petra's mother, Marianna Joensen, worked there all her life. When Petra grew up, she also started to work in the hospital, and mother and daughter were nicknamed Marianna and Petra á Sjúkhúsinum. Petra, who never married, thus spent her entire life at the hospital.

Anker Eli Petersen

Technical data:

Values: stamps of 6.00 DKK and 16.00 DKK

Date of issue: 21-II-2011

Author: Anker Eli Petersen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: Cartor, France

International Women's Day - 100 years

2011-04-03T15:50:00.000+01:00

International Women's Day - 100 years

The first seeds for equal rights between men and women were sown in the 18th century. There had certainly been sporadic calls earlier, among others, from Christine de Pizan, who in 1405 challenged the female oppression in the society and argued that women and men had the same mental properties. But it was not before the ideas of Enlightenment about human equality and demands for general political, social and economic influence, that the demand for equality between men and women was made.

The First Wave
But half a century went by before there was enough structure behind the demand for improved equality. In the early industrial age, working people lived under unspeakable social conditions, which did not exactly leave much room for the struggle for gender equality. But in the second half of the nineteenth century, a series of political and social reforms were carried out, and more and more women became aware of their position in society and lack of rights. Women started to organize around the demands for basic rights and demanded legal, economical, political and educational equality.

The most prominent demand was voting right for women. In 1893 and 1902, women in New Zealand and Australia achieved the right to vote, but both Europe and the U.S. lagged behind in that respect. In England and America the suffragette movement emerged, which demanded voting rights for women, but resistance was strong. Political life was dominated by men and the establishment did not intend to let women have any influence in that area

Emmeline Pankhurst
The feeling of banging the head against a wall was finally too much for some women, who demanded more direct action against the established political system. In England for example, parts of the suffragette movement, lost the patience, and started to use more direct actions like interrupting political rallies, enter the parliament to deliver protests, smashing windows or by hunger strike. The picture on the stamp depicts one of the leaders of this movement, Emmeline Pankhurst, as she was arrested at a demonstration at Buckingham Palace in 1914. Emmeline Pankhurst's political orientation was originally social democratic, but in later years she went over to the Conservative party. She died in 1928. Despite her militant methods, Emmeline Pankhurst is considered one of the most influential persons in the women's rights movements.

Clara Zetkin
The other woman on the stamp is also one of the pioneers of the women's movement. Clara Zetkin (1857 - 1933) was an influential socialist politician from Germany. She was initially active in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), but later moved farther to the left and joined the Communist Party (KPD). In her old age, Zetkin was a member of the German Reichstag - and as the oldest Member of Parliament, it was she who called upon the Germans to fight National Socialism in the opening speech in 1932. When Hitler took power in 1933, Clara Zetkin fled to the Soviet Union, where she died later that year.

Throughout her career, Clara Zetkin active on the feminist front, and in 1907 she became head of the SPD's women's office. In 1910, Clara Zetkin was elected as chairperson of the International Socialist Women's Association, and it was in this capacity that she, at a woman's Congress in Copenhagen the same year, called for the introduction of the International Women's Day.

Women's Day
The following year, in 1911, the first International Women's Day was celebrated in four countries, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. It was on the 19th March and the demands were female voting rights, improvement of women's working conditions - and rights to be hired as public servants. In the following years the day was celebrated on different dates, but in 1921 they decided on the 8th March. In the twenties and thirties the day was mostly celebrated as a socialist Women's Day, and after World War II it fell more or less into oblivion.

Second wave
In the forties and fifties the women's movement was on the back burner and Women's Day was practically ignored. But in the sixties the movement got wind back in their sails. Now began a more systematic work to improve women's conditions and rights. While in the beginning of the century the struggle mostly concentrated on suffrage and basic rights, the demand of this second wave was complete emancipation and gender equality. Female emancipation changed the foundations of the Western World and was a powerful boost for women on the social, intellectual, political and individual level.

As part of the new women's movement, March 8th was reinstated as International Women's Day. In connection with the International Women's Year in 1975, the United Nations recognized the day as International Women's Day.

Women's struggle is not over yet. There are still differences between men and women, both in our part and in the rest of the world. Fundamental rights such as equal wage for equal work, female equality in the workplace, political influence, access to education, and the right to decide over their own life, are just a few examples of areas where women have not yet achieved full equality. But hopefully the struggle continues, both on the 8th March and the rest of the year.

Anker Eli Petersen

Technical data:

Values: 10.00 DKK

Date of issue: 21-II-2011

Author: Anker Eli Petersen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset

Printer: OeSD, Austria

Franking Labels 2010

2011-01-04T19:25:00.002Z

On 20th September 2010, four new Faroese franking labels was issued.
This was the third issue of Faroese franking labels.

The motifs on this year’s franking labels have been taken from the Faroese national sport, boat racing, and artist Jóannes Lamhauge drew them.

Jóannes Lamhauge’s intention with his drawings was to capture the soul of Faroese boat racing and he therefore chose the motifs that he felt best represented the spirit of the sport. The first franking label depicts a training session in a rowing boat. We are inclined to forget how much intensive training is necessary to compete in the sport. There are often training sessions up to six times a week during the season – from February to the end of July – so this aspect should not be underrated. And boat racing competitions must naturally also be included. All of the boats are lined up stem to stem and it’s almost possible to hear Faroese sports reporter Jógvan Arge commentating. The third franking label provides an impression of the atmosphere in the boat. The expressions on the crew’s faces bear witness to the pain and the unrelenting will necessary to win. The white knuckles, the power, the sweat and all the drama. This motif is seen from the cox’s point of view as he sits in the stern exhorting the crew to row harder.

The winner boat must also be given a place.
This franking label shows the crew, rapturous after coming in first, the result of and reward for all their rigorous training.

Technical data:
Values: 4 x 6.00 DKK (franking labels 2010)
Date of issue: 20-IX-2010
Author: Jóannes Lamhauge
Perforation:
Technique: Flexoprint
Printer: Ganket, Denmark

Franking Labels 2009

2011-01-03T07:38:00.002Z

Faroese riddles

The first set of Faroese franking labels was issued in October 2008.

The 2009 issue is entitled “Faroese Riddles” and is designed by the Faroese artist, Edward Fuglø. The riddles are:

- Four are hanging down, four walking, two showing the way, and one dangling behind (a cow).
- Bouncing and making noise, carrying human bones in its stomach (a boat).
- Lies in a river, stretches its toe, with more than a hundred holes on it (sock).
- Round like an egg, reaches around the walls of the church (ball of yarn).

Technical data:
Values: 4 x 6.00 DKK (franking labels 2009)
Date of issue: 16-IX-2009
Author: Edward Fuglø
Perforation:
Technique: Flexoprint
Printer: Ganket, Denmark

2011 Issue Plan

2011-01-02T11:18:00.001Z

Covers of the Faroe Islands XXIV

2011-01-01T15:35:00.004Z

Official Posta cover sent from Tórshavn to Braga, Portugal.

Cover with stamp of 20.00kr from the 2006’s ‘Landscapes from Faroes’ stamps issue sent on 22 of April 2010.

Technical data:
Values: 7.00kr, 12.00kr and 20.00kr
Date of issue: 13-II-2006
Author: J. A. Arge
Perforation: 13 x 13
Technique: Offset
Printer: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei

Happy New Year 2011

2010-12-31T19:24:00.001Z

I would like to wish You, Your Families and Friends a Happy New Year.

That 2011 can bring you all Good Health, Happiness, Success and Joy.

Christmas Cards 2010

2010-12-26T13:07:00.003Z

Christmas Seals 2010

2010-12-01T09:49:00.001Z

The young Faroese artist, Janus á Húsagarði has designed this year's Christmas Seals, which depict a Faroese winter landscape with elfes.
Together with the Christmas Seals is a cute little Christmas story. As usual, the profit of the sale goes to The Christmas Seal Foundation, which supports children- and youth work in the Faroe Islands.

Welcome the 6000th Visitors

2010-11-28T11:10:00.003Z

Aqui ficam as melhores saudações Filatélicas, para os visitantes de todo o mundo, que diariamente visitam o meu blog.

(English version)

Here are the best Philatelic greetings to visitors from all over the world who daily visit my blog.

Classical Faroese Christmas Carols

2010-10-15T19:59:00.002+01:00

Issue: Christmas Carols

Values: Two stamps of 6.00 and 10.00 DKK

Issue: 20-IX-2010

Author: Anker Eli Petersen

Perforation:

Technique: Offset + silver metallic and gloss varnish

Printer: LM Group – Canada

Classical Faroese Christmas Carols

Any country, where people celebrate Christmas, has its own Christmas carols. Classical carols, which have migrated from country to country, and the more local classics, which people automatically associate with Christmas. The Faroe Islands are no exception from this rule. There are numerous Christmas carols in Faroese, and the next three years we shall present some examples.

We start with the undisputed masters of Faroese children’s songs – Hans Andreas Djurhuus and Alexandur Kristiansen.

Á barnaárum ungu – In My Early Childhood
Hans Andreas Djurhuus (1883-1951) is the bright and most popular Faroese poet. During his career he wrote a whole lot of songs, describing nature, everyday life and national pride.
But, especially one part of Djurhuus’ works has become an integrated part of the national mind. As a teacher and poet, it probably came naturally to him to write children’s songs. Easy, optimistic and marvellous texts, which have fascinated Faroese children for generations, and left their stamp on our minds. The princess from Babylon or the butterfly that wanted to marry the fly – they are all an integrated part of the collective Faroese mind.

In the song “Á barnaárum ungu”, H. A. Djurhuus looks back on his childhood Christmas, when he played with the candles. He used to light the candles and put them out, while he waited for the church bells to ring. When the bells started their ringing, he lighted all the candles, and in their lights he imagined the little prince, which brought light and hope to the world.

And years have past since then
And children wait, like I did then,
When the candle light is burning
the memories come back.

Lítla fitta nissa mín – My Sweet Little Brownie
Alexandur Kristiansen (b. 1949) is, like Djurhuus before him, an institution in Faroese cultural life and one of the absolute leading Faroese lyric poets. Since his début in 1968, he has enriched Faroese culture with several collections of poems, translations of novels and short stories and children’s books.

Kristiansen, who also is a teacher, has written and translated numerous children’s songs. His ingenious sense of the nuances in the language is transferred to the children through the words, rhythmic constructions and rhymes. And his, often quite peculiar, figures have become a natural part of the colourful universe of the Faroese children.

During his teaching practice in 1974 or 75, Alexandur Kristiansen wrote and translated several children’s songs for the first class he worked with. One of these songs was the translation of the Danish “Lille søde nissefar”, originally written by Kirsten Pendrup, with music by Gerd Gøssel. The Faroese title was “Lítla fitta nissa mín”, and it was a part of the poems collection “Kannubjølluvísur” from 1977. The same year, or the year after, the song was recorded by the nursery teacher Hjørdis Johansen and her girls. The song about the brownie that looks for the almond in his porridge became an instant hit among Faroese children and has kept its popularity through the years.

My sweet little brownie
here’s some porridge for your plate
Christmas porridge with almonds
Wait, and I shall fill it up.

Anker Eli Petersen