New Issue: Chinese New Year (New Zealand)

New Zealand is starting 2026 with this great set of stamps for the Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Horse and for a lot of people this is very exciting because the horse represents freedom and energy. Many Chinese people think the Year of the Horse will bring success! New Zealand have issued stamps for other years - last year they did a fantastic one for Year of the Snake and in 2024 there was one for the Year of the Dragon. So this is part of a long series.

Design Quality - The colours are super bright and fun, like a cartoon or a storybook. I really like the horses because they look friendly and magical, not scary. They look very happy. Everything is easy to see. The one difference I would like to see is more interesting backgrounds, which could really make the stamps more lively. Perhaps the designers could also have shown different horses?  7/10

Theme and Subject Choice - It's a great subject choice. Chinese New Year is a big thing, and not only in China! There are Chinese people all over the world, including New Zealand. We see that Chinese New year is important because they have created other sets in the past. 8/10

Historical and Cultural Relevance - These stamps have lots of cultural relevance. People enjoy Chinese New Year all over the world. As well as celebrating New Year, they also show Chinese traditions and symbols like gold and flowers. I think these stamps respect Chinese culture. 9/10

Innovation and Creativity - I don't think these are as creative as they could be but they manage to look modern and traditional at the same time. I like that each stamp tells a little story, like the children and horse are friends or on an adventure. 6/10

Collectability - These are collectable especially as it is part of a larger set from New Zealand. Also, other countries in the world issue stamps for Chinese New Year and some collectors really like them. 8/10

Personal appeal - I really like these stamps. I like horses and the colourful artwork and I would like them even if they were not about Chinese New Year. However, I think these stamps celebrate Chinese New Year and make people aware of Chinese culture and traditions and it all really works well. 9/10

Overall score - 47/60