Noel, Missouri: The Christmas City Tradition Continues
People from around country seek its Christmas postmark
Although the first noel was in the Holy Land, the tradition continues in the Missouri Ozarks. People have been sending Christmas cards to be postmarked in Noel, Mo., for nearly a century, thanks to the local postmaster.
“Back in 1932, he wanted to do something special for the city,” Dot Harner told “Farm Progress.” “We’ve got pictures somewhere where he’s got two of his clerks stamping the Christmas cards with the stamps, and it’s been going ever since.”
Harner’s brother and his wife once worked at the post office and sent her cards with the special stamp, “Season’s greetings from Noel, Missouri. Christmas City USA.” Harner would visit the town on vacation during Christmastime and helped stamp cards herself. “When I retired, I retired back here and kept it up,” she said.
She and current postmaster Patricia Coggin love how the tradition continues to be passed down from generation to generation. “Everybody that comes here has come with their grandparents, and now they’re coming here as adults and bringing their kids,” Coggins said. “So, they just keep passing down the tradition.”
How to get a Noel Christmas postmark
People wanting that special greeting from Christmas City USA can either ship or drop off Christmas cards to the post office and receive the iconic stamp. Coggins said people all over the world send Christmas cards, and workers and a packed list of volunteers spend Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve stamping away. Although there is no charge for this service, officials request the it be used only for personal Christmas cards, and not for packages, extremely large quantities of cards or letters, or for business use.
Both Harner and Coggins take pride in this tradition, which brings notoriety to rural Missouri. “It’s an amazing thing that we do here,” Coggins said. “I want the story to get out, and I want people to know, if you don’t have a tradition in your family, let this one be it.”
To receive the Noel postmarks, package the cards and address them to Postmaster, 318 Main St., Noel, MO 64854.
–Alan Goforth
