Tuesday, December 24, 2024
USPS enters the holiday home stretch
Across the nation, employees are working to deliver a successful season
The Postal Service has entered the final days of this year’s peak delivery season, with employees across the nation working to ensure customers receive their holiday cards, letters and packages.
The organization had accepted 9.65 billion mailpieces and packages by 8 a.m. Eastern on Dec. 24, according to an online counter that has been running since the peak season began on Thanksgiving.
Employees say they are up to the task of moving all that mail.
“It’s very fast-paced,” said Tonya Ferguson, a Columbus, OH, mail processing clerk.
Under Delivering for America, the Postal Service’s $40 billion modernization plan, the organization has expanded processing capabilities, improved transportation strategies and enhanced operational precision.
These improvements are helping USPS deliver strong service during the holidays, with 98 percent of the nation’s population receiving their mail and packages in an average of 2.6 days.
Throughout the season, the Postal Service has celebrated milestone deliveries, beginning with the 1 billionth mailpiece in Santa Claus, IN, in late November.
On Dec. 18, the organization marked its 8 billionth delivery in Windcrest, TX.
More milestone deliveries are expected as the season winds down, but employees such as Ryan West, a Bloomington, IL, letter carrier, say they’ll keep working until they get the job done.
“I joke with many of my friends outside of work that I’m Santa Claus this month,” West said.
Christmas is this week
The annual observance has been a federal holiday since 1870
Christmas, the annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, is Wednesday, Dec. 25.
Historians believe the holiday originated in Rome in the year 336. As Christianity spread across the world, the celebration of Christmas became more widespread and the holiday evolved to include both religious and cultural traditions, such as exchanging gifts, decorating trees and family gatherings.
In the United States, President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation that made Christmas a federal holiday in 1870. The law applied only to federal workers and the District of Columbia, but the observance of Christmas as a legal holiday was eventually adopted by all states.
The U.S. Post Office Department issued its first Christmas stamp in 1962. At the time, critics argued a stamp honoring Christmas or any religious event violated the Constitution, which prohibits the government from favoring one religious faith over another.
However, the release started a tradition of extending seasonal greetings with stamps honoring secular and religious holidays. This year, in addition to the Christmas Madonna and Child and Holiday Joy stamps, USPS released Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps.