Aloha has gone federal, at least it has in the United States Postal Service. They have issued a new and limited series of stamps featuring some of the most famous aloha shirt. And they put alot of thought into them.

Hawaiian Shirt Stamps

Each of these Aloha shirts depicts a different aspect of Hawaii itself. The are, appearing from left to right…

The red and the black-and-white one depict surfing. The red shirt has a giant wave bearing down on the shore and it is dotted with brave surfers catching a ride. The black-and-white shirt shows surfboard designs, and there are as many surf board designs in this world as there are surfing fanatics. This art is a world to itself.

Then there is the Bird Of Paradise flower represented by the blue shirt. While not native to Hawaii, it has become a symbol of the beauty of living on these isolated islands. The climate is so steady and so gentle that these fragile flowers grow wild, and they are almost everywhere. The blue shirt is rendered in a bird of paradise floral lei pattern, with large leis down either side divided by small leis elsewhere.

The green-and-black shirt is a loving abstract rendition of the volcanoes in the act of a night eruption, with the yellow glow of the molten rock lighting up the surrounding jungle. This act of creation is presently adding more land to the Big island every day than the ocean can wash away.

The white shirt is the opposite of the creation of the islands, it is the ocean. And while the ocean does erode away the land, its bounty provides food for its peoples, sport in its surfing and air that is clean and rich in oxygen. The pattern uses elements based loosely upon tapa, the bark clothing worn by Hawaiian islanders before the arrival of European colonists.

These stamps are a hit with everyone, the people of Hawaii, the collectors and the Post Office. Let us hope that the USPS will revist this theme again and often!.