Children born in the Chinese Year of the Pig are thought to be happy and honest. To have a child in the Year of the Pig is considered a favorable omen in Chinese culture where the twelfth sign of the Earthly Branches, the Pig, is associated with fertility and virility.

The Chinese Year of the Pig has generated of whole host of commemorative stamps -- from the comic to the sublime. The People's Republic of China recently issued this colorful, comic souvenir booklet. It's available at County Stamp Center for just $2.66. Click the post title to order.

In Chinese culture there are five types of pigs, named after the five Chinese elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth. On our website you'll find Year of the Pig stamps of every stripe and color. There are cartoon pigs, gingham pigs, rainbow pigs, fanciful pigs, realistic pigs, charming pigs, wild pigs, and ethereal stylized pigs. To portray the porkers, stamp artists have used block prints, silk screens, photographs, paintings, drawings, wood cuts, even gold foil. There is such great variety, you'll want to collect them all.

When you scratch the front of the stamps, it smells of the popular chinese dish and when the back of the stamp is licked it tastes of the dish too.

The stamps are on sale in China ahead of their New Year on February 18.

A man shows the 'Year of the Pig' stamp set which he bought after waiting overnight at Shanghai Postal Museum of Shanghai January 5, 2007. The stamp set is issued by the State Post Bureau in celebration of the 'Year of the Pig' in the Chinese lunar calendar.