Sunday Stamps II - 115

 2014, Italy, commemorative

Nutella was first sold in 1964, though it began, in a slightly different form, in 1946. Since chocolate was still rationed due to the war, Pietro Ferrero supplemented the cocoa with hazelnuts which were plentiful where his bakery was located in Piedmont.  Nutella's main ingredients are: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa. Each tablespoonful has 100 calories.

for the northern hemisphere

Sunday Stampos II - 114

1973, China, Giant Panda

Pandas are native to south central China, primarily in Sichuan province. It is thought that there are fewer than 2,000 living in the wild. Although it's classified as a carnivore and could eat rodents, fish, eggs or insects if it wanted to, giant pandas prefer to eat only bamboo. And they can eat up to 28lbs (12kg) of it in a 12 hour period. They are solitary creatures and their only social encounter is during the very brief mating season. The father has no family ties, leaving the mother to raise her cub alone. A baby panda weighs only 3 or 4 ounces when born which is about 1/800th of its mother's weight. By age one, the cub will weigh around 100lbs (45kgs)

for Eastern Hemisphere

Sunday Stamps II - 113

1984, St Lucia
Green Iguana

The Common Green Iguana, or iguana iguana (not sure why this stamp has it as Iguana iguana iguana) is native to Central and South America and parts of the Caribbean. In spite of its name, they can be found in many other colours from blue to black, lavender or pink. The ones in St Lucia are unique to other iguanas in that they are light green with predominant black stripes, have white or cream coloured irises instead of yellow, and have a black, not orange, dewlap. The females also lay only around 25 eggs whereas other iguanas lay around 50 or more.

for Western Hemisphere

Sunday Stamps II - 112

1968, Rwanda
African National Costumes

Rwanda is a land locked country in the Great Lakes region of Central Eastern Africa and is in the southern and eastern hemisphere. Around 10 million people live there. These stamps from 1968 celebrate some of the national costumes. A mushanana is a traditional ceremonial dress for women and consists of a long, flowing skirt bunched at the hips and draped over one shoulder. Although it used to be worn for everyday wear, it is now more commonly seen on formal occasions such as weddings and funerals.

for the southern hemisphere