World Post Day 2018: Why is it celebrated?

Since phones were also not as common as they are now, writing letters to each other was the main way to keep in touch.

New Delhi, Oct 9: Today (October 9) is World Post Day. It is celebrated to highlight the importance of the postal service. In this world of e-mails and online messaging, writing letters has become something which we rarely do. But, some 2 decades back, writing letters was an important form of communication. Since phones were also not as common as they are now, writing letters to each other used to be the main way to keep in touch.

World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan in 1969. Since then, countries across the world participate annually in the celebrations. The Posts in many countries use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services.

The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the Post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.

History:

Postal systems have been in operation for many centuries. From way back in history, people sent letters to each other. These were delivered on foot or on horseback by special messengers. From the 1600s the first national postage systems began springing up in many countries. These were more organized and many people could use them. Slowly countries agreed to exchange mail internationally. By the late 1800s there was a global postal service, but it was slow and complicated. The birth of the UPU in 1874 opened the way for the efficient postal service in existence today. In 1948, the UPU become an agency of the United Nations.