The Anthem Philatelist

The only language in the world with its own flag and anthem, the word "Esperanto" translates as "hope" or "hoping one" and also provides the title of the anthem of the language. The anthem speaks of the goal of the language, to bind the nations together with a common language in peace.    Esperanto is the only constructed language with native speakers, that is, people who learned it from their parents as one of their native languages. Estimates range from 10,000 to two million additional active or fluent speakers. Usage is particularly high in eastern and northern Europe, eastern Asia, Brazil, and Iran. A World Congress of Esperanto was organized in France in 1905, and since then has been held in various countries every year apart from during the world wars.     Although no country has adopted it officially, Esperanto was recommended by the French Academy of Sciences in 1921, was recognized by UNESCO in 1954, and is currently the language of instruction...

Bulgaria, "Balgariyo Mila" (Dear Bulgaria) was the National anthem of Bulgaria in use from 1950-1964. The words were written by Nikola Furnadshiev, Mladen Issaev and Elisaveta Bagrjana and set to music by Georgi Zlatev-Tscherkin, Svetoslav Obretenov and Georgi Dimitri.   Once Communist rule was secured in Bulgaria, "Balgariyo mila" was introduced as the national anthem. Interestingly, the anthem was replaced in 1964 while the Communists were still in power. One of the composers of the music, Georgi Dimitrov (not to be confused with the Communist leader of the time with the same nam)  also wrote the previous anthem.   Georgi Dimitri (born June 18, 1882, Kovachevtsi, Bulg. — died July 2, 1949, near Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) was a Bulgarian communist leader. He helped found the Bulgarian Communist Party in 1919. After leading a communist uprising in 1923 that provoked fierce govern ment reprisals, he was forced to live abroad and became head of the central Europ...

Francois Joseph-Claude Jaffrennou (March 15, 1879 - March 26, 1956) was a Breton language writer and editor. He was a Breton nationalist and a neo-druid bard. He is also known as François Taldir-Jaffrennou, since he also used the Druid name Taldir ("Wall of Steel"). He was one of the pioneers of the Breton autonomous movement. He composed the National anthem of Britanny . Breton nationalism is the nationalism of the traditional province of Brittany in France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Scotland). Like the nationalism of many neighboring regions, Breton nationalism combines political as well as cultural aspects. The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire to obtain the right to self-rule, whether within France or independently of it, and to acquire more power in the European Union, United Nations and other international bodies. Breton cultural nationalism include...

It is always a delight to receive mail from friends and sellers with your thematic stamp posted on the envelope. I once received a letter from Slovakia with a stamp of Beethoven on it; I was truly thankful to the sender. He may even be unaware of what he has done, especially if someone else mailed the letter for him. I was also pleasantly surprised when a letter from Macedonia had not one, but two stamps of Chopin on the envelope. I ordered an envelope with a cancel of the Macedonian anthem, and I got an added bonus of two stamps. I have not thanked him so I’ll thank him now- thank you sir! Good sellers should consider the thematic collections of buyers and should post stamps related to their collection if it is available. The joy of philately is in the searching, anticipating and acquiring of one’s want list. The wait is even better than the actual acquisition. Sometimes, when a collection is almost complete, collectors feel a sense of melancholia, that there is nothing more to ...

The music for the first version of the Japanese national anthem, the Kimigayo, was penned by an Irishman, John William Fenton . Fenton, who was born in Kinsale, County Cork in 1828, came to Japan as a bandmaster with the British army in 1868, the year of Meiji Restoration. In the following year, he started training of the Brass Band in Japan for soldiers of the Satsuma clan at Myoko-ji temple in Yokohama. This band became the country's first military band. When the Emperor Meiji inspected the troops consisting of 4 clans including Satsuma, the military band played for the first time in public. In this occasion, Fenton hastily composed a ceremonial melody to accompany the poem "Kimigayo". Over time, this became accepted as the national anthem, although the current anthem is different from Fenton's original version. Fenton is also known as the father of brass band music in Japan and is celebrated for his musical contribution to Japan. Above is a first day composer featu...

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as The Rock, the small island early-on served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963. Later, in 1972, Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received land-marking designations in 1976 and 1986. Today, the island is a historic site operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Pier 33, near Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. In 2008 the nation's first hybrid propulsion ferry started serving the island. Alcatraz has been featured in many movies, TV shows, cartoons, books, comics, and games. During its 29 years of operation, the penitentiary claimed no prisoners had ever successfully escaped. 36 prisoners were involved in 14 ...

La Balanguera is the anthem of Majorca (Mallorca), Spain. Majorca ("Mallorca" in Spanish and Catalan) is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands. It is largest by area and second most populated island of Spain (after Tenerife in the Canary Islands). The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca (in the municipality of Palma). Like the other Balearic Islands of Ibiza, Formentera and Minorca, the island is a highly popular holiday destination, particularly for tourists from Germany, the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent, Ireland. The name derives from Latin insula maior, "larger island"; later Maiorica, "the larger one" in comparison to Menorca. The official anthem is an adaptation of Joan Alcover i Maspons (1854-1926) poem based on an ancient and popular Majorcan children's song. The music is...