recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Kumsusan Palace of the Sun

**Kumsusan Palace of the Sun**  is a location stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit **North Korea**.

## Information

"***The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun*** , formerly the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, and sometimes referred to as the Kim Il-sung Mausoleum, is a building near the northeast corner of the city of Pyongyang that serves as the mausoleum for Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, and for his son Kim Jong-il, both posthumously designated as eternal leaders of North Korea.

At 115,000 square feet (10,700 m2), Kumsusan is the largest mausoleum dedicated to a Communist leader and the only one to house the remains of multiple people. Some halls inside the building are up to 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) long. It is fronted by a large square, approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) in length. "

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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Korea Foundation Day

**Korea Foundation Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit South Korea during this special day .

## Information

**Gaecheonjeol** (Korean: 개천절; Hanja: 開天節; lit. 'The day the sky opened') is a public holiday in South and North Korea on 3 October. Also known by the English name **National Foundation Day**, this holiday celebrates the legendary formation of the first Korean state of Gojoseon in 2333 BC. This date has traditionally been regarded as the date for the founding of the Korean people.

Gaecheonjeol is also recognized in North Korea, although not as a public holiday, with an annual ceremony at the Mausoleum of Tangun, the founder of Gojoseon.

*Gae-cheon* ("Opening of Heaven") refers to 3 October 2457 BCE, the date when Hwanung (환웅) descended from heaven to live with mankind.

The harvest ceremony was celebrated in the Korean realms; Yeonggo (영고,迎鼓 ) of Buyeo; Mucheon (무천,舞天) of Yemaek; Gyeeum (계음,契飮) of Mahan and Byeonhan; Dongmaeng (동맹,東盟) of Goguryeo; and Palgwanhoe (팔관회,八關會) of Silla.

In 1909, Gaecheonjeol was established as a national holiday. At first, the holiday was observed on the third day of the 10th month on the lunar calendar, but it has been fixed on 3 October of the solar Gregorian calendar since 1949.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Nepal

## Information

**Nepal**, officially the **Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal**, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, bordering Tibet of China to the north, and India in the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim.

Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Puppet Show

**Glove puppetry** is an exclusive single stamp in SLOWLY. This can be purchased in the shop when you visit Taiwan .

## Information

**Glove puppetry** (Chinese: 布袋戲; pinyin: *bùdàixì*; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: *pò͘-tē-hì*) is a type of opera using cloth puppets that originated during the 17th century in Quanzhou or Zhangzhou of China's Fujian province, and historically practised in the Min Nan-speaking areas such as Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, the Chaoshan region of Guangdong, and other parts of southern China. It had since established itself contemporarily as a popular art form in Taiwan.

The puppet's head uses wood carved into the shape of a hollow human head, but aside from the head, palms, and feet, which are made of wood, the puppet's torso and limbs consist entirely of cloth costumes. At the time of the performance, a gloved hand enters the puppet's costume and makes it perform. In previous years the puppets used in this type of performance strongly resembled "cloth sacks," hence the name, which literally means "cloth bag opera."

*In Taiwan* Yunlin County is the center of glove puppetry with most major studios having a presence in the county.

Since 1984, Pili has been adding computer animations to their glove puppetry TV shows. Their shows continue to be popular, even resulting in the Thunderbolt Fantasy series (2016-2021), a collaboration with Gen Urobuchi that combines Pili style glove puppetry with anime style narrative.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp could be purchased on the shop when you log into your account while inside the country.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Magpie Robin

**Magpie Robin** is an exclusive single stamp in SLOWLY. This can be purchased in the shop when you visit Bangladesh.

## Information

The **Oriental magpie-robin** (***Copsychus saularis***) is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds.

The oriental magpie-robin is considered the national bird of Bangladesh.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp could be purchased on the shop when you log into your account while inside the country.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Mädchen-Zukunftstag

**Mädchen-Zukunftstag** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Germany during this special day .

## Information

**Mädchen-Zukunftstag (Girls' Day)** is a day of action held once a year to motivate girls and women to take up technical and scientific professions. Girls' Day is intended to help increase the proportion of female employees in so-called "men's jobs" and reduce a shortage of skilled workers in industry that is assumed or forecast for the future. Boys' Day is regarded as the counterpart to Girls' Day.

Various companies, predominantly in industry, invite girls from the fifth grade onwards to their companies and give them the opportunity to get to know jobs in technology, natural sciences, crafts and information technology. The majority of companies and institutions (over 80 percent) invite girls interested in Girls' Day to so-called "open events". In a smaller proportion of organizations, employee daughters are given the opportunity to get to know their parents' workplace. Girls' Day is usually accompanied by a supporting program during which the girls are introduced to the company and have the opportunity to ask questions and become active themselves.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Golden man

**Алтын адамның** is an exclusive single stamp in SLOWLY. This can be purchased in the shop when you visit Kazakhstan.

## Information

Situated in eastern Scythia just north of Sogdiana, the kurgan contained a skeleton, warrior's equipment, and assorted funerary goods, including 4,000 gold ornaments. Although the sex of the skeleton is uncertain, it may have been an 18-year-old Saka (Scythian) prince or princess.

The richness of the burial items led the skeleton to be dubbed the **"golden man"** or "golden princess", with the "golden man" subsequently being adopted as one of the symbols of modern Kazakhstan. A likeness crowns the Independence Monument on the central square of Almaty. Its depiction may also be found on the Presidential Standard Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The treasures of the Issyk mound and an exact copy of *The Golden man* are located in the Kazakh Museum of archaeology in Almaty city and in the State Museum of gold and precious metals of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana city. *The Golden man* on the winged leopard is one of the national symbols of Kazakhstan. Copies of the Saks warrior installed in many cities of Kazakhstan. One of the copies crowns the Independence monument on the Republic square in Almaty city. Altogether, in the excavations, found five tombs with the so-called *The Golden man*: the second *The Golden man* found in the Araltobe barrow, the third in Chiliktinsk Kurgan Biglobe, the fourth near Astana city and fifth found in the burial ground Taldy Karkaralinsk district.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp could be purchased on the shop when you log into your account while inside the country.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Niger

## Information

**Niger**, officially the **Republic of the Niger**, (Hausa: *Jamhuriyar Nijar*, Zarma-Songhai: *Nigér Laabo*, Arabic: جمهورية النيجر‎) is a landlocked country in West Africa named after the Niger River. Niger is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.

Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 sq mi), making it the second-largest landlocked country in West Africa (behind Chad). Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara Desert. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Angel Falls

**Angel Falls** is a location stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit **Venezuela**.

## Information

"***The Angel Falls*** (Spanish: Salto Ángel; Pemon language: Kerepakupai Merú meaning "waterfall of the deepest place", or Parakupá Vená, meaning "the fall from the highest point") is a waterfall in Venezuela. It is the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall, with a height of 979 metres (3,212 ft) and a plunge of 807 m (2,648 ft).

The waterfall drops over the edge of the Auyán-tepui mountain in the Canaima National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Canaima), a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of Bolívar State.

The height figure, 979 m (3,212 ft), mostly consists of the main plunge but also includes about 400 metres (1,300 ft) of sloped cascade and rapids below the drop and a 30-metre (98 ft) high plunge downstream of the talus rapids.

The falls are along a fork of the Río Kerepacupai Merú which flows into the Churún River, a tributary of the Carrao River, itself a tributary of the Orinoco River. "

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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Patios de Cordoba

**Patios de Cordoba** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Spain during this special day .

## Information

**La Fiesta de los Patios de Córdoba** is one of the main tourist attractions of Córdoba, Spain. Its patios are a place of coexistence and center of family life. In them, history, light, water and vegetation dialogue in a unique environment.

Since 1921, they have taken on a special role with the Cordovan Patios Festival. It is celebrated during the month of May, where the Cordovan patios are adorned with flowers and pots that hang from their walls, or They are placed on the cobbled pavement.

And to complete the essence of these emblematic places, their caretakers decorate the rooms with antique furniture or kitchen utensils, among other details.

**WHAT ARE THE COURTYARDS?**

*\*\*In the list of UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity since December 2012\*\**

A pátio or courtyard is an outdoor space in a house that provides lighting and ventilation to the other rooms. In addition, its accessible location makes it a communal area, the centre of family life.

Due to the hot, dry Cordoban climate, the city’s inhabitants, - first the Romans and later the Moslems - adapted the typical design of the popular house to their needs, making the home centre around an inner courtyard (patio in Spanish), normally with a fountain in the middle and often a well to collect rainwater. The Moslems made further adjustments, giving the house an entrance from the street which passed through a porch, and filling the courtyard with plants to give the sensation of freshness.
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Text and image from Patios.Cordoba.es.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
India

## Information

**India**, officially the **Republic of India** (Hindi: *Bhārat Gaṇarājya*), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east.

In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Half-timbered Houses

**Fachwerkhaus** is an exclusive single stamp in SLOWLY. This can be purchased in the shop when you visit Germany.

## Information

**Timber framing** (*Holzfachwerk*) and **"post-and-beam" construction** are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the structural frame of load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as **half-timbered**, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany, where timber-framed houses are spread all over the country.

The method comes from working directly from logs and trees rather than pre-cut dimensional lumber. Hewing this with broadaxes, adzes, and draw knives and using hand-powered braces and augers (brace and bit) and other woodworking tools, artisans or framers could gradually assemble a building.

Since this building method has been used for thousands of years in many parts of the world, many styles of historic framing have developed. These styles are often categorized by the type of foundation, walls, how and where the beams intersect, the use of curved timbers, and the roof framing details.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp could be purchased on the shop when you log into your account while inside the country.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

**National Day for Truth and Reconciliation** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Canada during this special day.

## Information

The **National Day for Truth and Reconciliation** (**NDTR**; French: *Journée nationale de la vérité et de la réconciliation*), originally and still colloquially known as **Orange Shirt Day** (French: *Jour du chandail orange*), is a Canadian holiday to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Indian residential school system.

As of March 2023, NDTR is a statutory holiday for:

* federal government employees and private-sector employees to whom the Canada Labour Code applies;
* provincial/territorial employees and those of provincially/territorially-regulated businesses in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Nunavut; and
* all workers in British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, and Yukon.

Orange Shirt Day was first established as an observance in 2013, as part of an effort to promote awareness and education of the residential school system and the impact it has had on Indigenous communities for over a century. The impact of the residential school system has been recognized as a cultural genocide, and continues to this day.

The use of an orange shirt as a symbol was inspired by the accounts of Phyllis Jack Webstad, whose personal clothing—including a new orange shirt—was taken from her during her first day of residential schooling, and never returned. The orange shirt is thus used as a symbol of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children that the residential school system enforced.

The day was elevated to a statutory holiday for federal workers and workers in federally-regulated workplaces by the Parliament of Canada in 2021, and named "National Day for Truth and Reconciliation", in light of the revelations of over 1,000 unmarked graves near former residential school sites.

Text and image from wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Hong Kong

## Information

**Hong Kong**, officially the **Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China** (**HKSAR**), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China. With over 7.5 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world.

Hong Kong is also one of the most developed cities in the world, with the most expensive housing. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Heritage Day

**Heritage Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit South Africa during this special day.

## Information

**Heritage Day** (Afrikaans: *Erfenisdag*; ) is a South African public holiday celebrated on 24 September. On this day, South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people. Zulu members named it Heritage Day.

South Africans celebrate the day by remembering the cultural heritage of the many cultures that make up the population of South Africa. Various events are staged throughout the country such as braai to commemorate/remember this day.
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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Martin Luther King Day

**Martin Luther King Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit United States during this special day .

## Information

**Martin Luther King Jr. Day** is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. Born in 1929, King's actual birthday is January 15 (which in 1929 fell on a Tuesday). The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The earliest Monday for this holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21.

King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Pisa Cathedral

**Pisa Cathedral** is a location stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit **Italy**.

## Information

"***The Pisa Cathedral*** (Italian: Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy.

It is a notable example of Romanesque architecture, in particular the style known as Pisan Romanesque. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa. "

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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Nationale Tulpendag

**Nationale Tulpendag** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit the Netherlands during this special day .

## Information

***Nationale Tulpendag*** (English: *National Tulip Day*) is an annual event in January that preludes the tulip season in the Netherlands. The event has been held on the Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam since 2012.

During this day a special garden of 200,000 tulips covers the square. In the morning people can view the tulips from a gangway, and in the afternoon they can pick tulips for free. The tulips are from North Holland.

This festive event sets of tulip season because some 1.7 billion Dutch tulips are expected to bring spring into homes around the world.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Magtymguly Poetry Day

**Magtymguly Poetry Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Turkmenistan during this special day.

## Information

27 June is celebrated in Turkmenistan as "**the Day of Workers of Culture and Arts and the poetry of Magtymguly Fragi"**.

**Magtymguly Pyragy** (Persian: مخدومقلی فراغی *Makhdumqoli Farāghi*; Turkmen: *Magtymguly Pyragy*; Turkish: *Mahtumkulu Firaki*; c. 1724 – 1782), born **Magtymguly**, was a Turkmen spiritual leader, philosophical poet, Sufi and traveller who is considered to be the most famous figure in Turkmen literary history.

Magtymguly is the greatest representative of Turkmen literature, credited with the creation of Turkmen written literature, and whose literary form became a powerful symbol of the historical and the incipient national consciousness of the Turkmen people. He is part of a unique period in the cultural history of Central Asia, with his exceptional talent projecting his personal poetic synthesis onto the next generation of poets of the region.

In a wider context, Magtymguly is often placed alongside major figures of the Turkic literary world such as Hoja Ahmad Yasawi, Yunus Emre, Ali-Shir Nava'i and Fizuli.

Text and image from wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Motherland

**Motherland** is a location stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit **Ukraine**.

## Information

"***The Motherland Monument*** (Ukrainian: Батьківщина-Мати, romanized: Batkivshchýna-Máty, Russian: Родина-мать) is a monumental statue in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.

The stainless steel statue stands 62 m (203 ft) tall upon the museum main building with the overall structure measuring 102 m (335 ft) including its base and weighing 560 tonnes. The sword in the statue's right hand is 16 m (52 ft) long weighing 9 tonnes, with the left hand holding up a 13 by 8 m (43 by 26 ft) shield with the State Emblem of the Soviet Union."

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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Netherlands

## Information

The **Netherlands** is a country located in Western Europe with territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In Europe, the Netherlands consists of twelve provinces, bordering Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with those countries and the United Kingdom.

In the Caribbean, it consists of three special municipalities: the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Picnic Day

**Picnic Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Australia during this special day.

## Information

**Picnic Day** is a public holiday in the Northern Territory of Australia which takes place every year on the first Monday of August.

Picnic Day events in the Northern Territory date back to the late 1800s. They were held in a variety of locations such as Adelaide River, Brunette Downs Station and Glencoe Paddock at differing times of year.

A regular annual Union Picnic Day or Trade Picnic Day was observed at Adelaide River by railway employees working on the North Australia Railway. The date of the first event is not known. The event included Public Works employees on some occasions. Between 1926 and 1935 a railway Picnic Day event was not held. An attempt was made to revive the holiday in 1933, but it was not officially observed again until three years later. On Monday 5 October 1936, a train transported people from Darwin to Adelaide River, leaving at 7 am returning at 11 pm. The hotel at Adelaide River recorded record sales and the train was "forced to stop often as a number of male Darwin passengers fell off at various points along the line".

The Harts Range Races in Central Australia are held each Picnic Day long weekend. The races began in 1946, when three brothers Bennett, Qinton and Kil Webb from Mount Riddock Station raced stockman Jack Schaber and the regional policeman Senior Constable Bob Darken over a distance of about a mile to the Ulgarna Yards to determine who had the fastest horse. The event inspired the first formal racing meet at Harts Range in November 1947. It became an annual event.

Text and image from wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Poutine

**Poutine** is an exclusive single stamp in SLOWLY. This can be purchased in the shop when you visit Canada .

## Information

**Poutine** is a dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, Canada, in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec region, though its origins are uncertain and there are several competing claims of having invented the dish. For many years it was perceived negatively and mocked, and even used by some to stigmatize Quebec society. Poutine later became celebrated as a symbol of Québécois culture and the province of Quebec. It has long been associated with Quebec cuisine, and its rise in prominence has led to popularity throughout the rest of Canada, in the northern United States, and internationally.

The traditional recipe for poutine consists of:

* French fries: These are usually of medium thickness and fried (often twice) such that the inside stays soft, while the outside is crispy.
* Cheese curds: Fresh cheese curds are used to give the desired texture. The curd size varies, as does the amount used.
* Brown gravy: Traditionally, it is a light and thin chicken gravy, somewhat salty and mildly spiced with a hint of pepper; or a *sauce brune*, which is a combination of chicken and beef stock. Poutine sauces (*mélange à sauce poutine*) are sold in Quebec, Ontario, and Maritime grocery stores in jars or cans and in powdered mix packets; many stores and restaurants also offer vegetarian gravy.

Annual poutine celebrations occur in Montreal, Quebec City, and Drummondville, as well as Toronto, Ottawa, New Hampshire and Chicago. It has been called "Canada's national dish", though some believe this labelling represents cultural appropriation of the Québécois or Quebec's national identity. Many variations on the original recipe are popular, leading some to suggest that poutine has emerged as a new dish classification in its own right, as with sandwiches and dumplings.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp could be purchased on the shop when you log into your account while inside the country.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Guča Festival

**Guča Festival** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Serbia during this special day .

## Information

The **Guča Trumpet Festival**, also known as the **Dragačevski Sabor** (Serbian: Драгачевски сабор or *Dragačevo Fair (Fete, Gathering or Assembly)* is an annual brass band festival held in the town of Guča, near the city of Čačak, in the Dragačevo region of western Serbia. Guča is a three-hour bus ride from Belgrade.

600,000 visitors make their way to the town of 2,000 inhabitants every year, both from Serbia and abroad. Elimination heats are held earlier in the year and only a few dozen bands qualify to compete. Guča's official festival has three parts, Friday's opening concert, Saturday night's celebrations and Sunday's competition. The Friday's concerts are held at the entrance to the official Guča Festival building. This event features previous winners, each band getting to play three tunes while folk dancers, all kitted out in bright knitting patterns, dance kolos and oros in front of a hyped-up audience.
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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Permainan Tradisional

**Permainan Tradisional** is a serie of stamps in SLOWLY. This can be purchased on the Stamp Store while you visit Malaysia.

## Information

Malaysia is a nation rich in culture and heritage because of its multi-racial society that consists of different ethnic groups. Part of this rich cultural heritage are the various traditional children’s games (in malay **Permainan Tradisional** ) that have existed for a long time, such as Congkak (filling the wooden board), Batu Seremban (tossing the stones), Sepak Takraw (kicking the rattan ball), Gasing (spinning top), Wau (kite flying) and many more.

*Text from Oh\_Hui\_Kun.*

Permainan Tradisional Serie

Text source : Wikipedia

## Method

This stamps serie could be purchased on the Stamp Store when you log into your SLOWLY account while inside the country.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Pantheon

**Pantheon** is a location stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit **Belgium**.

## Information

"***The Pantheon***, (Latin: Pantheum, from Greek Πάνθειον Pantheion, "[temple] of all the gods") is a former Roman temple, now a Catholic church (Basilica di Santa Maria ad Martyres or Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs), in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD). It was rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated about 126 AD. Its date of construction is uncertain, because Hadrian chose not to inscribe the new temple but rather to retain the inscription of Agrippa's older temple, which had burned down.

The building is cylindrical with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.[3] The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43 metres (142 ft).

It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history and, since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been in use as a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" (Latin: Sancta Maria ad Martyres) but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda"."

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Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Brazil

## Information

**Brazil**, officially the **Federative Republic of Brazil** (Portuguese: *República Federativa do Brasil*), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3,300,000 sq mi) and with over 211 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo.

The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Mary Prince Day

**Mary Prince Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Bermuda during this special day.

## Information

**Mary Prince Day** is commemorated in Bermuda on the Friday before the first Monday of August, coinciding with the second day of Cup Match — a public holiday and annual cricket match between Somerset and St. George’s.

**Mary Prince** (c. 1 October 1788 – after 1833) was the first black woman to publish an autobiography of her experience as a slave, born in the colony of Bermuda to an enslaved family of African descent. After being sold a number of times and being moved around the Caribbean, she was brought to England as a servant in 1828, and later left her enslaver.

Prince was illiterate, but while she was living in London she dictated her life story to Susanna Strickland, a young lady living in the home of Thomas Pringle, secretary of the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions (aka Anti-Slavery Society, 1823–1838). Strickland wrote down her slave narrative which was published as *The History of Mary Prince* in 1831, the first account of the life of a Black enslaved woman to be published in the United Kingdom. This first-hand description of the brutalities of enslavement, published at a time when slavery was still legal in Bermuda and British Caribbean colonies, had a galvanising effect on the British anti-slavery movement. It was reprinted twice in its first year.

Text from wikipedia. image from beyondthestreets

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Invercargill Water Works

**Invercargill Water Works**  is a location stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit **New Zealand**.

## Information

"***The Invercargill Water Works*** is a water reservoir built to combat fires, located in Invercargill, New Zealand.

In the late 1880s the Invercargill Borough Council decided to build a water tower on part of the green belt. Ratepayers wanted the tower but not on the town belt, so architect-engineer William Sharp suggested blunting criticism by disguising the 300,000-litre steel tank with an elaborate brick tower. There were still a few ‘croakers’, but not enough to stop the foundation-laying ceremony on 18 December 1888.

Twelve months’ work and 300,000 bricks gave Invercargill a 42.6-m-high landmark that serves it still. The cupola was dismantled in 1934 but recreated in replica in 1989 when the polychromatic brickwork was restored, taking the old tower into its second century."

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Text and image from New\_Zealand\_History\_site.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Kupala Night

**Kupala Night** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Czechia Poland Slovakia during this special day.

## Information

**Kupala Night** (Polish: *Noc Kupały, Sobótka; Czech:* Kupadelné svátky), also called **Ivanа Kupala**, is a traditional Slavic holiday that was originally celebrated on the shortest night of the year, which is on 21-22 or 23-24 of June (Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and in Eastern Slavic countries according to traditional Julian calendar on the night between 6 and 7 July (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine). Calendar-wise, it is opposite to the winter holiday Koliada. The celebration relates to the summer solstice when nights are the shortest and includes a number of Slavic rituals. It involves herb collecting, bonfire lighting, and bathing in the river.

The name of the holiday was originally Kupala; a pagan fertility rite later adapted into the Orthodox Christian calendar by connecting it with St. John's Day which is celebrated on 24 June. Eastern Christianity uses traditional Julian calendar which is misaligned with actual solstice; 24 June in Julian calendar falls on 7 July in more modern Gregorian calendar.

This holiday symbolizes the birth of the summer sun – Kupalo. In the 4th century AD, this day was proclaimed the holiday of the birth of John the Baptist – the forerunner of Jesus Christ. As a result of the Christianization of the pagan feast the name "Kupala" got connected with the Christian "Ivan".

Text and image from wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Perfume Pagoda Festival

**Lễ Hội Chùa Hương** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Vietnam during this special day .

## Information

The Hương Temple (Vietnamese: *Chùa Hương*, Chữ Hán: 香寺) is a vast complex of Buddhist temples and shrines built into the limestone Hương Tích mountains. It is the site of a religious festival which draws large numbers of pilgrims from across Vietnam. The centre of the Hương Temple lies in Hương Sơn Commune, Mỹ Đức District, former Hà Tây Province (now Hanoi). The centre of this complex is the Hương Temple, also known as Chùa Trong (*Inner Temple*), located in Hương Tích Cave.

The main pilgrimage season at Chùa Hương is during the **Hương Temple festival**, when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make their way to Hương Tích cave and the other temples. The longest lasting festival in Vietnam, it officially begins on February 15 on the lunar calendar, but the peak in visitors lasts from the middle of January to the middle of March. The Festival is seen by some as a good opportunity for young people to find romance and begin courtships. Many restaurants in Hương Temple kill and butcher wildlife including civets, deer, porcupine, wild pig and serve it as special, rare or expensive meat which is particularly popular during the festival period.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Imbolc

**Imbolc** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit Ireland (and some other countries) during this special day .

## Information

**Imbolc** or *Imbolg*, also called *Saint Brigid's Day* (Irish: *Lá Fhéile Bríde*; Scottish Gaelic: *Là Fhèill Brìghde*; Manx: *Laa'l Breeshey*), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Saint Brigid, Ireland's patroness saint.

It is held on 1 February, which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Historically, its traditions were widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with: Bealtaine, Lughnasadh and Samhain.

Imbolc is mentioned in early Irish literature, and there is evidence suggesting it was also an important date in ancient times. It is believed that Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid, and that it was Christianized as the feast day of Saint Brigid, who could be a Christianization of the goddess. The festivities on the feast of Saint Brigid did not begin to be recorded in detail until the early modern era.

The festival was traditionally a time of weather divination, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens may be a forerunner of the North American Groundhog Day.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Indonesia

## Information

**Indonesia**, officially the **Republic of Indonesia,** is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over seventeen thousand islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest island country and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles).

With about 270 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population. *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Myanmar

## Information

**Myanmar**, officially the **Republic of the Union of Myanmar**, formerly **Burma**, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country in Mainland Southeast Asia, and has a population about 54 million as of 2017.

Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon). *Text and image from Wikipedia*.

## Country Stamps Gallery

*Additional Reference : Country stamps listing - SlowlyStamps.blogspot*
Chuseok

**Chuseok** is a limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit South Korea during this special day.

## Information

***Chuseok*** (Korean: 추석; Hanja: 秋夕; [tɕʰu.sʌk̚], literally "autumn evening"), is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar on the full moon. In North Korea, they only celebrate for the day of chuseok.  Like many other harvest festivals around the world, it is held around the autumn equinox, i.e. at the very end of summer or in early autumn. It is the biggest traditional holiday in South Korea.

As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food such as *songpyeon* (Korean: 송편; Hanja: 松餠), *yakgwa*, fruits like Asian pear and *hallabong*, and rice wines such as *sindoju* (Korean: 신도주; Hanja: 新稻酒). and *dongdongju* (Korean: 동동주; Hanja: 浮蟻酒). There are two major traditions related to Chuseok: ***Charye*** (Korean: 차례; Hanja: 茶禮, ancestor memorial services at home, also known as Jesa), and ***Seongmyo*** (Korean: 성묘; Hanja: 省墓, family visit to the ancestral graves), which is usually accompanied by ***Beolcho*** (Korean: 벌초; Hanja: 伐草, tidying graves, removing weeds around them). Another major custom is to prepare the family's ancestors their favorite meals as an offering.

Text and image from Wikipedia.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.
Indian Air Force Day

**Indian Air Force Day** is a Limited edition stamp in SLOWLY. This can be unlocked when you visit India during this special day .

## Information

**Indian Air Force Day** is observed every year on October 8. On this day, the Air Force in India was officially raised as an air support force for the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom.

The Indian Air Force is also known as "Bhartiya Vayu Sena". This year, India celebrates the 90th Indian Air Force Day. India's Air Force (IAF) has taken part in several wars since independence, including four wars with Pakistan and one with China. The Indian Air Force aids the country during natural calamities in addition to safeguarding Indian territory and national interests from all threats. Thus, we celebrate this day to recognize and honour the Indian Airforce’s selfless efforts.

The Indian Air Force has been expanding immensely and beginning to recruit more women for short service commissions in recent years. India's air force ranks as the fourth largest air force in the world. The Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh is the largest airbase in entire Asia. It is also the 8th largest in the world.
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Text and image from India Today.

## Method

This stamp is unlocked by logging into your account while inside the country during this special day. Any other local stamps will also be unlocked at the same time.

You will keep it and be able to send to other penpals even after you return from your trip.