FDC from Japan／FDC du Japon

Anime - One Piece

One Piece (ワンピース Wan Pīsu) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997. The individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997, and the 61st volume released as of February 2011. In 2010, Shueisha announced that they sold over 200 million volumes of One Piece manga so far; volume 61 set a new record for the highest initial print run of any book in Japan in history with 3.8 million copies (the previous record belonging to volume 60 with 3.4 million copies). Volume 60 is the first book to sell over two million copies in its opening week on Japan's Oricon book rankings. One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy who gains elastic abilities after inadvertently eating the gum gum fruit, one of the mystical devil fruits, and his diverse crew of pirates, named the Straw Hats. Luffy explores the ocean in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as the One Piece and to become the next Pirate King. On his journey, Luffy battles a wide variety of villains and makes several friends.

The series has been adapted into an original video animation (OVA) produced by Production I.G in 1998, and an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which premiered in Japan in 1999. Since then, the still ongoing series has aired more than four hundred episodes. Additionally, Toei has developed ten animated feature films, an OVA, and five television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising such as a trading card game, and a large number of video games.

The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by Funimation Entertainment for an English language release worldwide, although the series has been dubbed previously by 4Kids Entertainment.

Since its release, One Piece has become one of the most popular manga series of all time in both Japan and North America and is the highest-selling manga in the whole history of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan. It enjoys a high readership, with more than 202 million volumes of the series sold by 2011. Reviewers have praised the art, characterization, and humor of the story.

One Piece (ワンピース, Wanpīsu) est un manga, qui est ensuite adapté en anime et en jeux video, de type shōnen créé par Eiichirō Oda.

One Piece se focalise sur les aventures d'une bande de pirates menée par le capitaine Monkey D. Luffy dont le rêve est d'obtenir le One Piece – un fabuleux trésor qui appartenait au défunt seigneur pirate Gol D. Roger (ou Gold Roger) – afin de devenir à son tour le seigneur des pirates.

Le manga est toujours en cours de publication au Japon. Les chapitres sont prépubliés dans le magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump et regroupés en tomes aux éditions Shūeisha depuis 1997. La série télévisée va bientôt avoisiner les 500 épisodes. Le manga, est publié en France par Glénat, et la série est actuellement diffusée en France sur Direct Star et MCM.

Kana Home Video a acquis une licence pour éditer les 325 premiers épisodes de l'anime en français.

FDC from Poland／FDC de la Pologne

Christmas／Noël

FDC from Israel／FDC de l'Israël

The Israeli Flag ／Le Drapeau israélien

The flag of Israel (Hebrew: דגל ישראל, Degel Yisrael, Arabic: علم إسرائيل) was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the country's establishment. It depicts a blue Star of David on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes. The blue colour is mandated only as "dark sky-blue", and varies from flag to flag, ranging from a hue of pure blue, sometimes shaded almost as dark as navy blue, to hues about 75% toward pure cyan and shades as light as very light blue. The flag was designed for the Zionist Movement in 1891. The basic design recalls the Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, which is white with blue stripes. The hexagram in the centre is the Magen David ("shield of David"). It became a Jewish symbol starting in late medieval Prague, and was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897.
In 2007, an Israeli flag measuring 660 by 100 metres and weighing 5.2 tonnes was unfurled near the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada, breaking the world record for the largest flag.

Le drapeau d'Israël (en hébreu : דגל ישראל, en arabe : علم إسرائيل) est le drapeau national de l'État d'Israël. Il a été adopté par le mouvement sioniste au XIXe siècle et repris lors de la création de l'État en 1948. Il comporte en son centre l'étoile de David, ou « Maguen David » (de l'hébreu littéralement « Bouclier de David »).

Les proportions du drapeau, ses couleurs (blanc et bleu) et les deux bandes horizontales évoquent le talith, châle de prière juif.

FDC from Israel／FDC de l'Israël

Gethsemane／Gethsémani

Gethsemane (Greek ΓεΘσημανἰ, Gethsēmani Hebrew:גת שמנים, Aramaic:גת שמני, Gath-Šmânê, Assyrian ܓܕܣܡܢ, Gat Šmānê, lit. "oil press") is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where Jesus and his disciples prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.

Gethsemane appears in the Greek of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark as Γεθσημανἱ (Gethsēmani). The name is derived from the Assyrian ܓܕܣܡܢ (Gaṯ-Šmānê), meaning "oil press". Matthew (26:36) and Mark (14:32) call it χωρἰον (18:1), a place or estate. The Gospel of John says Jesus entered a garden (κῆπος) with his disciples.

According to the New Testament it was a place that Jesus and his disciples customarily visited, which allowed Judas to find him on the night of his arrest. Overlooking the garden is the Church of All Nations, also known as the Church of the Agony, built on the site of a church destroyed by the Sassanids in 614, and a Crusader church destroyed in 1219. Nearby is the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene with its golden, onion-shaped domes (Byzantine/Russian style), built by Russian Tsar Alexander III in memory of his mother.

According to Luke 22:43–44, Jesus' anguish in Gethsemane was so deep that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." According to the Eastern Orthodox Church tradition, Gethsemane is the garden where the Virgin Mary was buried and was assumed into heaven after her dormition on Mount Zion. The Garden of Gethsemane became a focal site for early Christian pilgrims. It was visited in 333 by the anonymous "Pilgrim of Bordeaux", whose Itinerarium Burdigalense is the earliest description left by a Christian traveler in the Holy Land. In his Onomasticon, Eusebius of Caesarea notes the site of Gethsemane located "at the foot of the Mount of Olives", and he adds that "the faithful were accustomed to go there to pray". Ancient olive trees growing in the garden are said to be 900 years old.

Dans la Bible, Gethsémani ou Gethsémané (en grec antique : ΓεΘσημανι, Gethsēmani, en hébreu :גת שמנים, en araméen : גת שמנא, Gat Šmānê, « le pressoir à huile ») est un lieu désignant une oliveraie au pied du mont des Oliviers, connu dans les Évangiles pour être le lieu où ont prié Jésus et les apôtres avant la Crucifixion.

Franchissant le torrent du Cédron, Jésus et ses disciples gagnèrent un jardin situé au pied du mont des Oliviers, appelé Gethsémani où sans doute il venait habituellement bivouaquer avec ses disciples. Judas, qui le savait, y conduisit ceux qui venaient l'arrêter.

« Alors Jésus parvient avec eux à un domaine appelé Gethsémani et leur dit : « Restez ici, pendant que je m'en vais là-bas pour prier. » »

— Évangile de l'apôtre Matthieu chapitre 26, verset 361

Une église a été construite au IVe siècle au bas du mont des Oliviers, par-dessus un rocher commémorant le lieu où Jésus pria, une petra qui est mentionnée dès le début de ce siècle par le Pèlerin de Bordeaux. L'endroit se trouve non loin de la grotte qui commémorait à cette époque le lieu de l'arrestation de Jésus, ceci d'après la description de la pèlerine Égérie. L'église disparut au VIIe siècle et ne fut reconstruite, à peu près sur le même plan, qu'au début du XXe siècle.

Elle se nomme la basilique de la Sainte-Agonie (surnommée l' église de Toutes-les-Nations) et appartient à la custodie franciscaine de Terre Sainte.

New Issue: Taiwan Butterflies Postage Stamps (Issue of 2011)／Les nouveautés: Les Papillons de Taiwan (l'Édition de 2011)

Date of Issue: 8.4.2011

Because of its richly varied geography and its location straddling the tropics and subtropics, Taiwan has a great number of butterflies with rich species diversity. To call public attention to the importance of ecological conservation, Chunghwa Post previously issued a set of stamps on Taiwan butterflies on June 25, 2009, and it is now following up with a souvenir sheet (Issue of 2011), consisting of four stamps, featuring Euploea butterflies. The souvenir sheet, following the format of its forerunner of 2009, is printed in the shape of a butterfly, with a butterfly-shaped cutout on each stamp. The designs follow:

1. Euploea eunice hobsoni (Butler) (NT$5): This butterfly has dark brown forewings with an iridescent blue shimmer. There are some pale blue gray markings on the submarginal areas of each of its wings and at the center of its forewings.

2. Euploea sylvester swinhoei Wallace Moore (NT$5): The upper surfaces of the forewings of this dark brown butterfly have an iridescent blue shimmer near the apex and light blue spots along the outer edges of its cells. There are three pale blue gray spots at the center of the underside of its forewings.

3. Euploea tulliolus koxinga Fruhstorfer (NT$12): This dark brown butterfly has iridescent blue forewings. There are rows of white markings in the submarginal areas of the upper surfaces of each of its wings. The undersides of its wings are paler in color, with white markings at the center of its forewings and also in positions that correspond to the white spots on its upper surfaces.

4. Euploea mulciber barsine Fruhstorfer (NT$12): The male has a large violescent patch with some scattered tiny white spots near the apex of its forewings. The female has white scattered spots near the apex and white streaks on the inner edges of the forewings and the cells of the hind wings.

New Issue: Fishes of Taiwan Postage Stamps (I)／Les nouveautés: poisson du Taiwan (I)

Date of Issue:10.3.2011

The native freshwater fish of Taiwan’s rivers, lakes, and estuaries comprise the most diverse group of vertebrates within the island’s terrestrial ecosystem. Chunghwa Post has planned a series of postage stamps to introduce the beauty of Taiwan’s freshwater fishes. The first set of the series features Taiwan endemic fishes: Candidia barbatus, Opsariichthys pachycephalus, Spinibarbus hollandi, and Squalidus banarescui. The designs follow:

1. Candidia barbatus (NT$5): This silver white fish has an obvious deep blue lateral stripe extending from its gill cover to the base of its caudal fin. It typically measures about 6 to 12 centimeters long, but large examples can sometimes reach 20 centimeters. It is commonly seen in the upper stretches of rivers and their branches in western Taiwan. As a result of human introduction in recent years, it can be found in the rivers of the Hualien and Taitung.

2. Opsariichthys pachycephalus (NT$5): An adult male has some ten blue-green vertical streaks on the sides of its body and displays nuptial coloration in the area below its gill covers as well as at its pelvic, pectoral, and anal fins. Vigorous and ferocious, the species’ strong predatory characteristics make it a popular target for stream fishing. It typically measures about 8 to 15 centimeters long, but large examples can reach 20 centimeters. It is commonly seen in the rivers of western Taiwan.

3. Spinibarbus hollandi (NT$12): The fish has a medium-to-large mouth aperture and two pairs of barbels. The back of its body is slate gray and its sides are silver white. This large carp typically measures about 20 to 40 centimeters long. The largest examples can reach 60 centimeters in length. The stamp features a medium-sized adult. It can be found in the middle stretches of rivers in southern and eastern Taiwan.

4. Squalidus banarescui (NT$25): This fish is slightly transparent, with a black and gold lateral line on the sides of its body. There is a black marking that resembles the Chinese character for eight “八” on each of its lateral line scales. This small carp measures about 8 to 10 centimeters long. It can only be found in relatively deep and slow and slightly muddy rivers in central Taiwan.