World Post Day 2026: history of the holiday and interesting facts

Every year on October 9, the world celebrates World Post Day — a holiday honoring one of humanity’s most important inventions. For centuries, the postal service has remained a convenient means of communication between people, cities, and continents. Today, it is not merely the delivery of paper letters but a global logistics network that supports international trade and connects millions of people. UNN will рассказывать about the history of this day, the postal service in Ukraine, and interesting facts

Why World Post Day is celebrated on October 9

The date of October 9 was not chosen by chance. On this day in 1874, during an international congress in Bern, Switzerland, representatives of 22 countries signed the Treaty of Bern. This document established the General Postal Union, which was renamed the Universal Postal Union in 1878.

Previously, each state established its own tariffs, rules, and formatting requirements, which necessitated the conclusion of hundreds of bilateral agreements. Delivering a letter between continents was extraordinarily expensive and took months because of endless customs and bureaucratic procedures. The Treaty of Bern united countries into a single postal system with standardized tariffs. This became a genuine information revolution of the 19th century.

The official decision to celebrate World Post Day annually on October 9 was adopted in 1969 at the 14th UPU Congress in Tokyo. Since then, this day has symbolized unity and international cooperation.

How the postal service has changed

Just a few decades ago, the primary task of postal workers was sending paper letters, holiday cards, and periodicals. People waited weeks for letters, and keeping in touch with relatives abroad required patience.

With the advent of the internet, traditional handwritten letters gave way to email and messengers. However, this did not destroy the postal industry but led to its large-scale transformation. The rapid development of e-commerce turned postal operators into logistics companies. Parcels and goods from online stores became the primary items delivered.

Modern postal services are high-tech operations. Traditional branches are supplemented by networks of 24-hour parcel lockers, mobile apps for real-time shipment tracking, artificial intelligence for route optimization, and automated sorting lines that process thousands of packages per hour.

How the Ukrainian postal service operates during the war

Under conditions of full-scale war, Ukraine’s postal system — both the state-owned "Ukrposhta" and private operators, including "Nova Poshta" — has demonstrated remarkable resilience and become an important element of national security.

An important factor in the development of Ukrainian postal logistics has been its international network. Nova Poshta’s entry into the European market during the war. The company opened its own branches under the Nova Post brand in many European countries — Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania, Lithuania, Italy, Spain, France, and many others. This enabled millions of Ukrainians abroad to easily and quickly send and receive parcels from home, maintaining contact with their relatives.

In addition, Ukrainian operators built a powerful humanitarian logistics network, delivering  medicines and military equipment free of charge. Despite the closure of civilian air connections, Ukrposhta, together with international partners, established alternative ground and air routes through European countries, preserving export opportunities for Ukrainian businesses.

On April 12, 2022, Ukrposhta issued the legendary postage stamp "Russian warship, go f... yourself!". The idea of creating the stamp arose after the brave response of a Ukrainian border guard from Snake Island to the Russian cruiser’s demand that he surrender. A competition for the best design received more than 1,700 entries from artists around the world, and the winner was Ukrainian illustrator Borys Groh.

The first print run of the stamp amounted to 1 million copies: 500,000 for domestic mail within Ukraine and 500,000 for international mail. Its release sparked unprecedented excitement and kilometer-long lines outside the Main Post Office in Kyiv. Symbolically, already the day after the stamp was issued, on April 13, the same Russian flagship "Moskva" was struck by Ukrainian Neptune missiles and sank, making the stamp prophetic. Later, on May 23, 2022, Ukrposhta released a second series — "Russian Warship ... DONE!" — in a record print run of 5 million copies. Sales of these stamps and charity auctions raised tens of millions of hryvnias to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Interesting Facts About the Postal Service

• The world's first postage stamp appeared in Great Britain in May 1840 and went down in history under the name "Penny Black." It depicted the profile of Queen Victoria.

• The most remote post office is located in Antarctica at Port Lockroy station. Despite the extreme conditions and icy winds, more than 70,000 postcards are sent from there every year to every corner of the planet.

• In Canada, Santa Claus has an official postal code — H0H 0H0 — which appears to reproduce his signature "Ho-ho-ho." Every year, postal workers reply to millions of letters from children.
• In the 19th and 20th centuries, underground pneumatic mail systems operated in many of the world's major cities, including Paris, Berlin, and New York, where capsules containing letters traveled through tubes propelled by compressed air.