World Post Day is an event which is celebrated every year, all over the world on 9th October. This day marks the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Berne. However, this day was declared as the World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969.
The prime reason to celebrate this day is to highlight the role of postal sector in the everyday life of the public and business. Also, this day creates awareness about the contribution of this sector towards the social and economic development of the countries. Over 150+ countries take part in the celebrations of the World Post Day every year. Most of the countries take this day as an opportunity to introduce the new postal services and products. However, there are others, who highlight the performance of their employees and also reward them for the same. On this day, the postal administrations that are affiliated to UPU are recommended to issue a new stamp in honour of this day.
The prime celebrations on this day witness an active involvement of the member countries which are meant with the aim of generating an awareness of their Post’s role and activities among the general public on a wide scale. In a number of countries, philately exhibitions are organised wherein new stamps and date cancellation marks are issued. Besides this, a lot of activities such as conferences, seminars, workshops etc. take place in the post offices, postal museums, schools & other educational institutions respectively. A lot of postal administrations issue special souvenirs like badges on this day.
It is worth noting that in various remote areas, where there is less or absolutely no access to the modern gadgets of communication, postal services plays an important role. However, with the advent of modern, fast paced modes of communication, it has been observed that postal services have become comparatively less opted mode.
World Post Day is an international day of observance and not a public holiday.
How to celebrate World Post Day at home?
- Tell your children the importance of celebrating World Post Day.
- Take your children to the nearby Post Office and tell them about stamps, postcards etc.
- Buy a postcard and tell them how important messages are sent especially in the remote areas.
- Encourage children to collect stamps and preserve them in a file.
- Invite a postman to your locality and ask him to speak on the importance of postal services or how does the postal system works.
- Ask children to write letters to their friends, family or relatives staying far.
Use the aforesaid mentioned tips to create awareness about World Post Day.
