The Eid stamp, designed by Zakariya of Arlington, Va., features the Arabic phrase "Eid mubarak" in gold calligraphy on a blue background. English text on the stamps reads "EID GREETINGS."

Employing traditional methods and instruments to create this design, Zakariya chose a script known in Arabic as "thuluth" and in Turkish as "sulus." He describes it as "the choice script for a complex composition due to its open proportions and sense of balance." He used homemade black ink, and his pens were crafted from seasoned reeds from the Near East and Japanese bamboo from Hawaii. The paper was specially prepared with a coating of starch and three coats of alum and egg-white varnish, then burnished with an agate stone and aged for more than a year.

Zakariya's black-and-white design was then colorized by computer. The colors chosen for the stamp Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, prayer and reflection. Ramadan remembers the month in A.D. 610 when Muslims believe that the prophet Muhammad received the revelations from God that would form Islam's holy book, the Quran.

More about the Eid stamp from U.S. Postal Service

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