Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Upside Down Postage Stamps

In my family we have a tradition. When we mail each other letters we place the postage stamp on upside down. When I asked my grandmother what that meant she told me that it was a way of saying I love you. Through the years I've continued to place my stamps on the envelopes upside down, unless of course it was a bill, & I never really looked anymore into why we put postage stamps on envelopes upside down.

The other day, however, I became curious and so I did some research on the Internet. There were a lot of different opinions about why people put postage stamps on upside down, but the one that I think my grandmother would agree with is this:  In wartime, soldiers were discouraged from including anything in their letters that might show affection or that might put their loved ones in danger if the enemy intercepted their correspondence. And so soldiers and their families began placing their postage stamps on envelopes upside down as a way of being able to say I love you without actually having to write the words.

So if you ever receive a letter from me and you notice that the postage stamp is on upside down, now you know it's a way of saying I love you in my family.


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