A longtime Christmas tradition continues

NEOSHO, Mo. – Each year, thousands of people around the world mail their holiday cards and letters to the small town of Noel, Missouri, nestled along the banks of the Elk River in McDonald County. Since the early 1930s, it’s been a tradition for the Noel Post Office, assisted by volunteers, to stamp all holiday mail with a special postmark.

Those who have their cards stamped at Noel can choose from two Christmas postmarks. One is red with a holiday wreath that says “Noel: The Christmas City” and the other is a green Christmas tree that says “Noel: Christmas City of the Ozarks.”

But many probably wonder how did Noel become known far and wide as the Christmas City and why?

Noel has long been a tourist destination, drawing travelers who seek a slower pace and beautiful Ozark scenery.

Most of the year, area residents pronounce Noel as rhyming with mole, in honor of the town’s namesame, Bridges Noel.

Until 1933, no one connected Noel to the Christmas holiday. That year, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named Democrat Ed Rousselot postmaster. With a French heritage, Rousselot shared the meaning of Noel in French along with a different pronunciation, rhyming with bell

His vision was to make Noel known as the Christmas season, so he proposed the idea of a special Christmas postmark. To help spread the word, the town tried to enlist some celebrity help and they found it in singer Kate Smith.

Smith was a major recording star in radio and television with a career that spanned more than a half century. In the 1940s, Smith was known as the “First Lady of Radio.” Smith began mentioning Noel, using the French pronunciation, in her radio broadcasts. “I’m dedicating this song to my friends in Noel, the Christmas City.”

Although the Christmas postmarks did little toward making Noel a winter tourist destination, the tradition did earn the town a new nickname: The Christmas City.

Other cities known for their connection to Christmas include North Pole, Alaska; North Pole, New York; Rudolph, Texas; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.