National Day

National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day 2024: Date, Observance, Quote

National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day is a day in tribute to U.S. postal workers. American people observe this day on 7th September. The day takes its name from the unofficial motto of the United States Postal service, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The words were derived from a transcription of an ancient Greek work of Herodotus, which described couriers in ancient Persia. It’s a special day for us to say a little thank you to our postal service workers.

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History of National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day

Postal workers and post offices have a long history in the United States. Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General in 1775 when the American Revolution was taking place. In 1847 the first postage stamps were issued, and in 1863, during the Civil War, free city delivery began. Free rural delivery started in 1896, and airmail in 1918. In 1963 the zip code was inaugurated.

U.S. Postal service workers are one of the most dedicated and loyal service teams that exist, and that impression comes from their willpower to make sure packages are sent out and delivered with safe hands, and regardless of any obstacles.

Its history begins at the unofficial creed of the United States Postal Service, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The phrase’s association with the U.S. Mail originated with its inscription on New York City’s General Post Office Building, which opened in 1914. It was derived from a passage in George Herbert Palmer’s translation of Herodotus’ Histories, referring to the courier service of the ancient Persian Empire.

The day is observed on September 7, because that was the day New York City opened its main post office, the James A. Farley building, in 1914. The building is located in Manhattan, New York, and formerly serves as the city’s main United States Postal Service (USPS) branch. Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General in 1775. In 1847 the first postage stamps were issued, and in 1863, during the Civil War, free city delivery began.

National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day
National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day

What is the postman’s oath?

The full “Postman’s Oath,” is, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Observance of National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day

Appreciate the Postal Workers

It is the perfect day to reach out to your local postal worker and extend them some appreciation. You can even go as far as purchasing a little gift for them that shows just how thankful you are.

Visit  a Postal Museum

The Smithsonian National Postal Museum is dedicated to the preservation, study, and presentation of postal history. Plan a trip and learn all about the dedicated postal service history.

Read  any Book on this Topic

Read about “Neither Snow Nor Rain” by Devin Leonard or in “How the Post Office Created America” by Winifred Gallagher to learn more about the History of the Post Office.

Watch a Documentary

You can also watch documentaries about how your mail is delivered.

Neither Snow Nor Rain Day Appreciate
Appreciate the U.S. postal workers

Some Interesting Facts about the U.S. Post Office

There are some U.S. Post Office-related interesting facts that are given below.

It is a part-time detective agency

Postal service employees have found criminals and cracked criminal cases by seizing narcotics and identifying hundreds of criminals from fingerprints and other physical evidence found in the mail.

They have a department that deals with bad handwriting

The Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City gets all of the hard-to-read mail that can’t be figured out by automated mail sorters and has workers who can translate scribbles in an average of four seconds.

They don’t use your taxes

The postal service receives zero tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund everything.

The first one was in a bar

The first post office, established in 1639 in colonial America, was in Boston, in a tavern that sold ‘stronge water.’

The oldest one is in New Hampshire

The oldest continuously operating post office is the Hinsdale Post Office in Hinsdale, New Hampshire. It was previously a general store before it was converted into a post office in 1816.

Recipients had to Pay for Postage on the Letters They Received

As a result, people tended to refuse so many letters in order to escape paying for them, which caused the post office to spend an inordinate amount of time returning mail to senders. Postage stamps—which were prepaid—were introduced in America in 1847 and eliminated this problem.

Everyone had to go to the post office to get mail

In 1863, Free City Delivery—i.e., free delivery of mail at your home—was first launched in Cleveland. Joseph Briggs, a postal clerk in that Ohio city, is said to have come up with the idea over the previous winter when he saw so many women customers who were forced to wait in long lines at the post office, freezing and fretting, since the only way to get news of their loved ones fighting in the war was via the mail.

After the U.S. president and vice president, the postmaster general is the next highest-paid federal government employee.

The U.S. president earns a base salary of $400,000 a year; the postmaster general gets a base salary of $276,840. As a result, she—the current officeholder is Megan Brennan, the first woman in history to hold the job—out-earns the U.S. vice president, who makes $243,500.

National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day
National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day old photo

Significance of National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day

Our postal workers are heroes

This day really helps us see just how much our postal workers deserve to be called heroes. The name itself says it all. Our postal workers go above and beyond to deliver our parcels, and they deserve more than a day to be duly appreciated.

It educates us on the postal service history

National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day really holds a bounty of information regarding the history of the U.S. postal service. This leaves us more educated and to the dedication behind the entire operation, which in turn leaves us more grateful.

It creates an opportunity to give back

The day gives us a great avenue to give back to these dedicated workers, be it in gift or kind. If you need a way to give back to integral members of the community, or just an opportunity to say thank you, National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day is the perfect day to do so.

National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day Quote

“People often talk about how the postal service is lumbering and inefficient compared with private sector competitors such as UPS and FedEx. But the USPS delivers more items in nine days than UPS does in a year. It transports more in seven days than FedEx brings to its customers in a year.”
― Devin Leonard, Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service

“But postal inspectors also solved crimes. James Holbook’s Ten Years Among the Mail Bags; or, Notes from the Diary of a Special Agent of the Post-Office Department, published in 1855, became a best seller and is thought to have helped inspire the modern detective novel, with its tales of mail robbers and malefactors who tried to use the public mails for nefarious purposes. “A mail bag is an epitome of human life,”‘ Holbrook wrote in the opening section of his book. “All the elements which go to form the happiness or misery of individuals–the raw material so to speak, of human hopes and fears–here exist in a chaotic state.” Someone had to protect it.”
― Devin Leonard, Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service

“In February 1914, the Pierstorffs of Grangeville, Idaho, sent their five-year-old daughter to visit her grandmother 75 miles away in Lewiston via parcel post, because it was cheaper than buying her a train ticket. Little May Pierstorff weighed 48 pounds, which meant that she was just under the Post Office Department’s 50-pound limit for parcels. The Grangeville postmaster charged her parents 53 cents, attaching the appropriate stamps to the front of her coat. May traveled all the way to Lewiston in a railway baggage car under the watchful eye of a railway mail clerk. When she arrived, a mail clerk on duty drove her to her grandmother’s house rather than leaving her at the post office for morning delivery. Soon there were more incidents of “child mailing,” and finally the Post Office Department outlawed the practice.”
― Devin Leonard, Neither Snow nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

Conclusion

In this modern period, post offices are still playing a vital role at the heart of American local communities. Consumers and businesses rely on the Post Office for many services, not just sending and receiving parcels but accessing banking, getting local information, and paying bills. So this day reminds us of the necessity of this postal service.

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