Posted on: 01.09.2022.
Letters and eye-to-eye communications were the only forms of communication for hundreds of years. As social networks and various digital tools make mutual communication much simpler and more accessible wherever you are, but the culture of writing letters is thus gradually disappearing, and with it its charm. A bit artistic, very personal and unique.
Who founded it and when?
Richard Simpkin is an Australian author, artist, and photographer who founded World Letter Writing Day and started celebrating it in 2014. During the late 1990s, Simpkin wrote letters to whom he considered to be Australian legends, and received their replies as well. In 2005, he shared his experience in the book “Australian Legends”.
Since 2014, World Letter Writing Day has been celebrated on a global level on September 1. In addition, Simpkin also holds letter-writing workshops where he teaches this mini art and encourages young and old to take a break from social media and write someone a letter.
Why should we write letters?
The traditional letters writing and then posting them is slowly, or not even slowly, dying. Digitization makes communication much easier and faster, but writing letters is more than just a way of communication.
Writing letters is a personal way of communicating and expressing one's thoughts and feelings. If you write what you think with your own hand and put your thoughts on paper, it will have an even deeper meaning for the person who receives it. Get in touch with your loved ones or those you haven't heard from in a while and write them a letter. There's no need for big words, just share your thoughts with them and show them how much you care.
At the same time, you will create memories by writing letters. The letters you wrote today will only become more meaningful to your family and friends as time goes on. Maybe you already do keep some letters. Look through them and remember those moments, people, feelings. You can save your e-mails, but holding someone's letter in your hand is a special feeling, and with time it becomes even more special.
How to celebrate World Letter Writing Day?
How can we mark this day? That's easy! Write letters. Write letters to your family, friends, loved ones. Write a letter to someone you haven't heard or seen for a long time, to someone who lives somewhere far away, to someone you miss wherever they are. Just write a letter. Write one to your role model, someone you consider a legend. Write a letter to yourself. Write to whomever you want and as many letters as you want. The only important thing is that your words are sincere and handwritten.
Maybe you already wrote and sent letters, teach your children to do so. Write a letter together and send it. When writing a letter, we think about what we are writing, we do not automatically type, and thus develop language skills, practice hand-writing and improve creative expression. That way you will create valuable memories together and teach new generations something that is already dissapearing, as well as develop new skills and improve old ones while socializing and having fun.
And finally, why not read some letters? Among all those of the letters ever written, many have contributed to creating the world as we know it today. Read some famous letters written by famous people from the past.
Whichever activity you choose, mark this day. The culture of letter writing is a real mini art, and what a shame it would be if it no longer existed. Take a break from the hectic everyday life, write or read a letter and take a remember the past or create new memories.
