Written By Shah Hetvi Parag and Tan Min Hui Joelle
Dear Reader,
When was the last time you wrote a letter? We humans have traditionally shared our stories through the physical act of writing .
Commemorated annually during the second week of January, Universal Letter Writing Week encourages everyone to pick up a pen and paper to write to someone. That someone could be your loved ones, someone you want to apologise to or even someone you want to initiate a conversation with! Universal Letter Writing Week celebrates conversations the old-school way: grabbing your trusty pen and paper, writing your thoughts, tucking the letter away in an envelope and pasting a stamp on it before mailing it out to the recipient.
Romanticised by the movie industry since the dawn of time, people often view letter writing as something deeply personal and heartfelt. Not only used by pining lovers, letters have also been used to communicate important documents throughout the ages. Carried by foot, sea, air or even by the occasional carrier pigeon, the language of letters is universal.
With technological advances and the invention of mobile phones in 1973, the act of sending messages has become easier ever since. What used to take up to months to deliver could now be sent to anywhere in the world within seconds with just a simple press of a button. What purpose does the “outdated” snail mail still serve in the 21st century then?
It’s probably not a shock to learn that, in our increasingly high-tech world, letter writing and penmanship are quickly becoming lost arts. The ease, convenience, and speed of text, instant messaging, and email are great. But nothing compares to the joy of opening up that mail box and finding a letter or personalised greeting card.
There is everything to love about a tangible copy of your loved ones words to you. The sentiment of taking out time during the day to personally select your best stationery to handwriting each word…is surely something to hold dear to. Text messaging on the other hand is often seen as impersonal due to the common abbreviations used, usually considered as a lack of effort. Hence, the difference in letter-writing and text messages lies in two words- thought and effort.
We often do not realise it, but there is so much more that goes behind a handwritten letter, beyond its content. Apart from the ink and quill, stationeries like stamps, decorative items and wax seals are also used. Wax seals are used to signify that the document is untouched and stamped on by a personalised signet ring. In the case of important matters, wax seals were used as a form of shutting court cases forever or even sealing a property. Who knew that materials used in letter writing served so many purposes even till date!
Letter-writing is still subtly part of our busy lives, going unnoticed. From passing notes sneakily scrawled on post-its in class under your teacher’s oblivious eye to confession letters to your secret crush, who can deny they have never written a letter before. However, as we grew older, we shifted from our uniquely individual handwritings to the same old Arial font. Maybe we have lost touch with the art of letter writing.
As time ebbs and flows forward, we should not forget our ink on paper roots and let the art of letter writing fall obsolete. Not as just another relic of the past but rather as something that you can place in your memory box and see it age with you- like a time capsule of nostalgia waiting for you to reopen!
With love,
Stories & Co.
