BETHLEHEM, Ky. — Methodically hand-stamping each piece of mail with a cancellation in black ink and a special Three Wise Men stamp in red, postmaster Sheilah Downey and assistant Susan Leopold worked their way through stacks of Christmas cards and letters.

        Each Christmas, more than 30,000 people from just about everywhere send holiday cards and letters here by mail to be postmarked “Bethlehem, KY 40007” and then sent to friends and family members all around the world. Some people even send whole boxes of pre-stamped holiday mail to be spruced with the distinctive postmark. There's nothing quite like getting a Christmas card from Bethlehem.

        “Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Oregon, Kansas. ... People send us mail from all over,” Ms. Downey said. “We started getting about 2,500 a day right after Thanksgiving, and it's been running around 5,000 a day for the last week.”

        The Bethlehem Post Office, the thing that puts this tiny Henry County community on the map, has been answering requests from all over the world for its famous

        holiday postmark every Christmas since the 1930s.

        That tradition seemed to be on the verge of ending when longtime postmaster Cecil Peyton decided to retire after last Christmas. Bethlehem's 150-odd residents feared the post office would be phased out unless someone stepped forward to take over the job.

        Fortunately, Ms. Downey, who lives just down the road, agreed to do just that. Now, the post office carries on, although it's only only from 8:30 a.m. to noon weekdays.

        The reduced hours make it tougher for Ms. Downey to handle all the holiday mail, but demand remains as strong as ever.

        “It's a special service,” Ms. Downey said. “But it's a tradition, and we don't mind doing it.”

        Mr. Peyton says his late mother, Laura Peyton, who was postmaster in Bethlehem before him, started the tradition of a special Bethlehem holiday postmark around 1938. Over the years, the story of Bethlehem and its little post office became part of the canon of Kentucky folklore.

        But the phenomenon isn't unique to Bethlehem. The U.S. Postal Service says almost a hundred towns around the country get inundated with remailing requests each Christmas because they have names associated with the holidays.

        Among them: Antler, N.D.; North Pole, N.Y.; Rudolph, Wisc.; Santa Claus, Ind.; Evergreen, Ala.; Noel, Mo.; Snowflake, Ariz.; and Wiseman, Ark.

        In fact, if you're really diligent you could have your holiday cards mailed from Bethlehem, Conn.; Bethlehem, Ga.; Bethlehem, Ind.; Bethlehem, Md.; Bethlehem, N.H.; and Bethlehem, Pa.; as well as the one in Henry County.

        But no one takes more pride in the name, and the Christmas association, than do the folks in Bethlehem, Ky.

        “It's such a part of our history that people probably would run us out of town if we tried to change anything,” Ms. Leopold said.

Use of force increased as violent crime dropped
Officer used force 57 times in 4 years
Flynts may open Hustler's club
Shirey in running for Springfield job
Charter schools gain enrollment
Charter schools Q&A
Varied people create classes
Bill promotes charter schools
BRONSON: Christmas in a bottle
PULFER: Spirit of Christmas in August
Quick thinking saves stroke victim
Residents OK with sale of Bethesda
Two families lose home in fire
Christmas closings
Good News: Students deliver gifts
IRS worker dies from Sept. 11 injuries
Local Digest
Love of bowling her legacy
Popular game has Ohio State roots
CROWLEY: Checking off twice on year in politics
Northern Ky. Christmas closings
Bars to close earlier
Bethlehem's holiday stamp a ritual
Kentucky rakes in federal roads funds
Patton: Increase teacher pay
Sergeant keeps airport watch
Union miners ratify deal