PUBLIC'S CHOICE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 3000, 19 December 1935, Page 18

PUBLIC'S CHOICE.

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS.

HOW PEOPLE EXPRESS THEM.

The Post Office which touches our business and social life at so many points will shortly be transmitting personal greetings by the scores of thousands, and its experience enables it to state —probably with mora authority than anyone else —what is the most popular form in 'which these greetings are expressed.

An analysis was made to show the relative popularity of the various forms of Christmas and New Year greetings telegraphed for Gd last Christmas and New Year. A choice was given of ten different wordings which adequately covered the requirements of the occasion. It was found that the brief conventional greeting, "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," was one of the least favoured, only 4.5 per cent of all the messages being phrased in these terms. The outstandingly popular message was, "All good wishes for a Happy Christmas and a Bright and Prosperous New Year."

This was selected by 28 per cent of the senders. The Department undertook to deliver another form of greeting, which extended to 31 words, but this telegraphic bargain at Gd did not strongly appeal to the business community, for whom it was specially designed, as only 4.5 per cent of the messages sent came under this category. This generalisation regarding the relative popularity of greetings is based upon a total traffic of nearly a quarter of a million messages.

For the coming season the Postal Department is providing a wide choice of greetings for Christmas and New Year, which are telegraphed for Gd, and delivered on an attractive new form printed in two colours with a "holiday" design and a border of the kowhai in bloom, the envelope being similarly decorated.