New stamp marking Eid features multicultural design created in Edmonton

Canada's newest stamp celebrates Eid and features a design from Edmonton's Muslim and Indigenous community.

Canada Post’s new stamp celebrating Eid features a design from both Edmonton’s Muslim and Indigenous communities.

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The stamp shows a prayer rug made by children nearly a decade ago at the Islamic Family, a charity that provides culturally appropriate services.

The Islamic Family says prayer rugs reflect local materials, culture and architecture.

The design by a Metis artist shows a lodgepole pine, Alberta’s official tree, surrounded by triangular Cree symbols for mountains and rivers.

A colourful archway represents what prayer should accomplish.

There are two different Eid celebrations: the first marks the end of the month-long fast during Ramadan while the second celebrates Muslims' pilgrimage to Mecca.

Yaqub says it’s the perfect time for the stamp to be released.

“Like Christmas or Hanukkah, people are sending letters to family members, sending parcels, exchanging gifts, and to have the stamp is a wonderful way to connect those,” Omar Yaqub, the executive director of Islamic Family, told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

Canada Post says the stamp celebrates cultural connections and the multi-faith collaboration that built Canada’s first mosque.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Evan Kenny