Christmas Mail Sets Record for Post Office

The post office handled a record 3.4 billion cards and letters in the weeks leading up to Christmas, the agency said. The pieces of mail were postmarked from Dec. 1 to Dec. 24 and represented an increase of 78 million from last year. Many mailers waited until the last minute, officials said, with a deluge of mail on Dec. 22.

The peak mailing day, however, was Dec. 15, when more than 850 million items were mailed.