WASHINGTON — Post Offices nationwide will be open Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, and New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31. Most Post Offices will shorten retail lobby hours and close at noon on these dates. Regular mail delivery will be unaffected by the change.

Revised hours will be posted at each Post Office and commercial customers are asked to check with their business mail entry units for specific information regarding holiday hours of operation.

Blue collection boxes having final collection times before 12 p.m. will not be affected by these changes. However, collection boxes with final collection times scheduled after that may be collected early. Therefore, mail should be deposited into these mailboxes by 12 p.m. for early pickup Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. Customers requiring postal services later on those days are encouraged to contact their local Post Office. Customers also may call 1.800.ASK.USPS for additional information.

Areas where Post Offices may have different hours from this schedule will issue local media announcements specific to their locations.

Post Offices will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Only Priority Mail Express will be delivered on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. All Post Offices will be open and regular mail delivery will resume Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.

For the most up-to-date holiday information, go to: usps.com/holidaynews. There you’ll find holiday mailing and shipping deadlines, packing tips and information about Letters to Santa. Information is also included about all of the Postal Service’s holiday forever stamps, including Christmas: Holy Family Stamp, Christmas: Virgin and Child by Jan Gossaert, Eid Stamp, Gingerbread Houses, Global Evergreen Wreath International Stamp, Hanukkah Stamp, Kwanzaa Stamp and Poinsettia Stamps.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation: 152 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With more than 31,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world's mail. If it were a private-sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 42nd in the 2012 Fortune 500. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for seven years and the fifth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.