CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE
By Judith Ashton
When did you last receive a handwritten letter? Are you sending any love letters or cards this Valentine’s Day?
My nephew Liam, lives with his Danish family in Copenhagen and on Dec 30th 2025 the Danish postal service ceased letter delivery and became the first country to proclaim that traditional letter delivery is unviable, thus ending a 400 yr old tradition due to a 90% decline in mail volume since 2000.
Letters and writing have been modes of communication since time immemorial… scribes were important people in ancient societies as they were among the elite literate few. They were often monks, teachers or administrators. Early letters written by Egyptians were on papyrus with a reed pens back in 3000BC using plant dyes as ink. The Chinese used brushes to write on silk or bamboo. From 600AD to 1800s quills made from big feathers were used on parchment, paper or vellum (calf skin) which meant constant sharpening and dipping in ink. (Messy and time consuming!) From the 1820s steel nibs were invented and fountain pens and then in the 1930s Mr. Laslo Biro invented…. You guessed, the biro! (There were very early typewriters dating back to 1714 and the printing press back to 1440) Then came, felt tips, gel pens markers and eventually computer keyboards.
What happened in Denmark will surely happen here sooner than later!! Electronic communication has replaced physical mail and the Danes’ digitized society is leading the way. Wow!
I wonder if I am the only person to be touched by this announcement. For me there is something very sad about this as I love writing letters, sending birthday cards and holiday postcards. I have been a prolific letter writer since I was about 4 when I discovered that I could write mirror writing and sent my mother many such letters when she was in hospital having my brother. I have boxes of letters sent to my parents and siblings which are a kind of diary as they reflect all the things I was doing over the years. I spent an academic year in France and wrote home very regularly. On rereading these letters I was amazed at the amount of information and how much I had forgotten of my time there.
I find there is something very visceral about writing a letter by hand with a pen. For me it’s a bodily experience much more so than hitting a keyboard. It’s a direct experience that has more feeling in it than typing. There is something special about handwriting and letter writing which we are in danger of losing as a society. Computers with keyboards require lots of tapping which is a gross motor skill and they are machines. A hand is very human and therefore connected to feelings and writing is a fine motor skill and is an individual art form.
When you write, it’s a complex cognitive ability that requires working memory, executive function, co-ordination and self regulation and it stimulates many regions of the brain responsible for thinking and language. It is an acquired skill and your handwriting also tells much about your personality. Handwriting being slower than typing fosters deeper thought and creativity.
Sitting down with the intention of writing a letter to a friend or loved one can focus thoughts on that person and as you start to write you can literally pour out your heart! There is something magical about sitting with a blank sheet of paper and waiting to see what it is that you really want to say to the recipient. Letters are more likely to be keepsakes and deep reminders. They can be held and felt. Whereas a printed, typed e mail is never the same and not a thing of beauty. We are more likely to keep a love letter than a love email.
I have letters and cards from my parents, both now deceased and it’s a joy to read their handwriting and it’s a physical link to them. I have old love letters; reminders of long ago romances, my kid’s Mother’s Day cards, special birthday and thankyou cards…. All handwritten and delivered by our trusty postman. Those magical moments will soon be gone… the personal delivery service, the delight of opening and reading a letter and the joy of hearing from loved ones.
Do something lovely… write a letter, tell someone you love them before it’s too late. Happy Valentine’s Day!
“You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone….” Joni Mitchell
