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News from December 13, 1923 (The Standard Union, via Newspapers.com™)
Post Office Eases Christmas Workload for Mail Carriers
In 1923, the Postmaster General of the United States made a decision that affected the work schedule of letter carriers. Christmas time, traditionally a period of family reunions and festive joy, had evolved into an exceedingly demanding season for the postmen. They were required to work overtime, delivering large volumes of mail containing heartfelt messages and festive gifts.
The Postmaster General, acknowledging the intense strain faced by the postmen, announced that the letter carriers were to be given the afternoon of Christmas Day off. This shift was introduced to give the hardworking letter carriers a much-needed break on a major holiday.
For those letter carriers on rural routes, the entire Christmas Day was declared a holiday. However, for city carriers, it was deemed sufficient to provide a half-holiday.
The new policy mandated all letters and packages that were still undelivered at noon on Christmas had to wait until the next delivery date.
Learn more about December 13, 1923 through historical newspapers from our archives. Explore newspaper articles, headlines, images, and other primary sources below.
Source Articles and Clippings
"Don't Begrudge This Half-Holiday" 13 Dec 1923, Thu The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York) Newspapers.com
"Rural Mail Carriers to Get Full Holiday" 13 Dec 1923, Thu The Buffalo Commercial (Buffalo, New York) Newspapers.com