A long-time Christmas tradition continues in Bethlehem, Maryland

BETHLEHEM, Md. – With each and every stamp, thousands of envelopes will travel near or far in the spirit of Christmas to friends and families all the way from a quaint little post office in Bethlehem, Maryland.

“Well, I like to do it,” said Bob Hambury, a Salisbury resident, “You know Bethlehem is where it all started.”

Bob Hambury from Salisbury says he’s been hooked on this holiday tradition for 30 years now and alongside him, Jo Horner, who enjoys visiting the town says it’s the reason for the season.

“I am so happy that they are continuing this over all these years. It all relays back to the birth of Bethlehem,” said Horner.

The stamp shows the story of the Three Wise Men in search of Baby Jesus and some people tell 47ABC after sending their letters they’ll sometimes get an entertaining response.

“I have a few friends that will call and say how did you do that? And I say well I drew it and I explain to them,” said Horner.

“They say they keep the envelope and I think it’s a great thing,” said Horner.

“They really loved the idea that it had when it gets stamped by the postal office it says Bethlehem Maryland and then you have this stamp down here and they like the idea and they say we never knew of Bethlehem, Maryland,” said Roy Kaiser, a Salisbury resident.

According to Postmaster Kerri Brandow, fewer people are visiting the post office because of the pandemic, but for some, the holiday tradition is providing a sense of some much-needed normalcy.

“With people calling and knowing that we are still here and still doing it is a positive and it kind of brings back some normalcy to them for a few minutes,” said Brandow.

If you’re interested in visiting the post office you should know that only two people can be inside their lobby at one time because of the coronavirus pandemic. So, if you don’t want to wait the post office says you can mail in your postcards instead to get them stamped.