Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Andorra

From Monaco last week we go this week to the French postage stamps of Andorra.
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalan Countries. Therefore, Andorra has French and Spanish stamps, issued by France and Spain, respectively.
The Andorran costume is very similar to the Catalan costumes worn in France and Spain. For women the costume features a full, mostly flowered skirt over a white petticoat; a blouse (sometimes covered by a flowered shawl); long, black, fingerless net gloves; and black espadrilles (cloth sandals) with white stockings. The traditional costume for men is a white shirt, dark knee-length pants, white stockings, black shoes, broad red sashes tied at the waist and the barretina (the traditional Catalan cap).
The stamp above is from a series of 1963 celebrating Andorran history. It shows people dancing la Sardane (Catalan dance).

The next stamp is from 1976 and celebrates International Women's Year. It shows "La Pubilla", the patroness of tradition at Catalan city and village celebrations.


This last stamp is from 1981 and part of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981. It shows people dancing El Contrapas, the festival dance of Andorra's capital Andorra la Vella.


You can find Andorra on this map of France:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps "Santons de Provence"

This week some lovely postage stamps with the "Santons" of the Provence. Santons are clay figurines that depict the colorful people, traditional trades, traditional activities and traditional 19th century costumes of the Provence. Santon comes from the Provencal "santoùon", or little saint. Jean-Louis Lagnel (1764-1822) of Marseilles, who made molded figurines for church crèches, decided during the French Revolution, to make the santons for the general population, at a price they could afford. Santons for the public became an instant success, and an industry and tradition was born. Next to the typical Nativity scene Santons like the three wise kings, the shepherds, Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus, the Provencal crèches depict typical Provencal village inhabitants, like the fishmonger, the lavender woman, the lumberjack, etc. The two stamps above are from the 1995 Red Cross series of France; they show the fishwife and the elderly couple.



The next three stamps are from the 1984 Christmas series of Monaco; they show the spinning woman, the garlic woman and the couple "Grasset and Grassette" (stands for kind people, nice and devoted grandparents).



And this last stamp is from the 1991 Christmas series of Monaco; it shows the Arlésienne. She is a native of the city of Arles. Young and pretty, she is always dressed in the very refined traditional costume of the region of Arles.



You can find the Provence on this map:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Brittany, France

This week some beautiful postage stamps with traditional costumes of Brittany / Bretagne. The first one above is a French Red Cross stamp to commemorate 300 years of Quimper pottery and shows a woman in traditional Breton dress.



The next stamp commemorates the 150th anniversary of Paul Gaugain and shows his painting "The Vision After the Sermon (Jacob wrestling with the Angel)" with women of Pont Aven in their traditional costumes.



This third stamp is a very fancy one; it's from Umm Al Qiwain (one of the United Arab Emirates) and part of a 1972 series of dolls in traditional costumes of the world. It shows a doll in the costume of Pont Aven and it is a hologram.



You can find the Brittany / Bretagne on this map:

Traditional Costumes : More Postage Stamps of France

This week even more postage stamps with traditional costumes of France. The stamps above and the first one below are from 1960 and commemorate the centenary of the incorporation of the dutchy of Savoy and the county of Nice to France. The stamps show women in the traditional costumes of Savoy and Nice, respectively. The woman from Savoy is standing in front of the Glacier de l'Homme, and the woman from Nice in front of the Mediterranean beach. You can find these regions under the names of "Savoie" and "Comté de Nice" in the map below.



The next two stamps are from 1981 and part of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981. The French stamps show traditional dances. The first one shows the Bourée croisée from Berry with dancers in the folk costume of that area. The second stamp shows the Sardane from the Catalan county of Roussillon with dancers in the Catalan traditional costume.



You can find the regions on this map:

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps France

After The Netherlands and Belgium, we go now to France. This week I show you the 1943 series with regional French caps of the 18th century. For this series, issued in favor of the National Aid, the French Vichy government (French government from 1940 to 1944 who allied with Germany) wanted to strengthen the idea of regionalism in France, thinking perhaps that it would weaken the sense of patriotism. The Vichy stamps bear the mention of "France - Postes" instead of "Postes - République Française". Unfortunately, not the only time that traditional costumes were misused by politicians....


The regions on the stamps are:
Picardie (60c + 1f30)
Bretagne (1f20 + 2f)
Ile de France (1f50 + 4f)
Bourgogne (2f40 + 5f)
Auvergne (4f + 6f)
Provence (5f + 7f)

Tidbits : Flickr Favourites

Inspired by a bonnet I made based on a traditional Dutch pattern, my flickr favourites of today are all about traditional headdresses.
For more flickr favourites see here.

1. Alsace girl (France), 2. the brelot (France), 3. Buckeburg (Germany), 4. Zeeland (The Netherlands)