October 19 marks the original holiday – Letter Writing Day in the Future. It is unknown – who initiated the date and when, but many liked the idea of sending a message «through the years», and the holiday began to gain supporters.
It's no secret that writing messages to descendants or even to yourself in the future – is a widely known tradition. Many of us at school wrote letters to ourselves as adults, so that later (at the end of the next grade) we could open this message and understand – what we dreamed and wanted, and what happened in life. Or, for example, the ancient tradition of creating «time capsules» – a kind of message to future generations, which was laid down for several centuries and with a very serious goal. With their help, scientists and historians wanted to talk about their time, achievements and aspirations. By the way, examples of such messages are found in ancient times.
Perhaps the beginning of such a tradition was laid by the ancient Egyptians, who supplied their pharaohs with everything necessary for the afterlife, or perhaps – and the inhabitants of ancient Sumer, who laid messages to future rulers in the foundations of temples and palaces. Or from the distant Middle Ages, when kings hid maps in the walls of castles describing places where treasures were buried.
Currently, the laying of «capsules of time» does not lose its popularity, and such an event is usually organized at the official level, timed to coincide with some kind of festive or significant date for the city (society)/country with the involvement of representatives of the authorities, the public, the media... And it is planned to open these messages in a few tens, or even hundreds of years. Thus, the «time capsules», laid down in New York at the World Exhibitions in 1939 and 1964, were bequeathed to be opened only in 6939.
A number of Russian cities have capsules that were laid for 100 years or more during the existence of the Soviet Union. In general, laying messages to descendants was very popular in the USSR – they were laid under monuments, or under a slab in a special square in the city, walled up in walls or floors, and opening and reading were timed to coincide with memorable dates associated with Soviet history.
For example, it is known that during commemorative events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the «Artek» children's camp, a similar capsule was opened in 2000 with a letter from Soviet pioneers from 1960 signed by 1,200 children. In the letter, the guys wrote that their descendants are confident – – the inhabitants of the Earth live in peace and harmony, people constantly fly to the Moon, and «Artek» even has its own cosmodrome.
On Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, in the wall located on Heroes Square, on May 9, 1970, on the day of the 25th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people over Nazi Germany, a capsule was laid with «Appeal from the workers of the hero city of Volgograd, veterans of the Great Patriotic War to the descendants of». It was bequeathed to be opened on May 9, 2045, on the day of the 100th anniversary of the Victory over Nazi Germany. And today there are a huge number of similar messages that will become unique artifacts of the era for people of the next generations in different countries.
But there are not only global «time capsules». Sometimes everyone wants to write a message to their descendants (or to themselves) in some distant or near future. As already mentioned, schoolchildren or students write letters to their future at graduation in order to open them in 5-10 years at a graduate meeting. Or grandparents write a letter to their still very young grandchildren so that, as they grow up, they can find out – who their ancestors were, what they did and how they loved their grandchildren.
Writing to the future – is a chance to say something important to yourself or others, share emotions and feelings that you cannot say out loud, an opportunity to remind you of the values and achievements of this period of life. Today's holiday is dedicated to this tradition. By the way, it doesn’t matter at all how the letter is written – by hand or electronically, in poetry or prose, with errors and blots or perfect handwriting. The main thing is to write – from the heart and sincerely, and also think about – as, where and how much it will be stored until opening. Although modern technologies and services make it possible to store and deliver such messages in a timely manner (in a year, two or ten years), it is still a much more interesting and soulful option, with attached photographs and all sorts of souvenirs and « » – pieces.