What is No Post on Sundays?

It's a fan tribute event and catchphrase built around Uncle Vernon Dursley's line from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, observed on March 31st, 2013 in memory of actor Richard Griffiths[2].

Where did No Post on Sundays come from?

FunnyJunk user lolzponies proposed a Sunday day of silence on March 30th, 2013 after Griffiths' death two days earlier, and the idea spread to Reddit and Tumblr[4][6].

What does No Post on Sundays mean?

In the film, Vernon Dursley yells the phrase while explaining that Royal Mail doesn't deliver on Sundays, which fans repurposed as a promise not to submit online posts on the tribute day[1].

How do you use No Post on Sundays?

People commonly caption a screencap of Vernon shouting with "NO POST ON SUNDAYS" in Impact text, or drop the quote as a reply to any Harry Potter thread about mail or weekends[2].

Is No Post on Sundays still popular?

The 2013 tribute day itself was a one-off, but the Vernon Dursley quote still circulates as a Harry Potter reaction image whenever weekend mail comes up in fan discussion[2].

No Post on Sundays

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Published September 9, 2026

No Post on Sundays was a one-day tribute held on March 31st, 2013, when Harry Potter fans stopped submitting content across FunnyJunk, Reddit and Tumblr to honor actor Richard Griffiths, who had died days earlier. The quote came from his character Uncle Vernon Dursley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and the mourning event spawned a wave of ironic image macros announcing the very silence it was meant to observe.

death hoax tragedy memes image macro memes catchphrase memes fandom discourse memes movie quote memes

Overview

No Post on Sundays refers to a fan-organized day of silence held on Sunday, March 31st, 2013, in which users on FunnyJunk, Reddit and Tumblr agreed to stop submitting posts for 24 hours to mourn British actor Richard Griffiths2. The name comes from a line delivered by Griffiths as Uncle Vernon Dursley in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, where he barks the phrase while ranting about mysterious owl mail arriving at Number 4 Privet Drive1.

In practice the tribute worked less as actual silence and more as a self-aware joke. FunnyJunk in particular filled up with image macros of Vernon Dursley shouting the quote, all announcing that there would be no posts that Sunday2. The format paired a screencap of Griffiths' scowling face with block Impact-style text, turning a moment of grief into an ironic in-joke shared across Harry Potter fandom spaces on Tumblr and Reddit6.

Origin & Background

Platform

FunnyJunk (proposal) / Reddit / Tumblr (viral spread)

Creator

lolzponies

Date

2013

On March 28th, 2013, news outlets reported that Richard Griffiths had died at age 65 from complications following heart surgery at the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire2. Griffiths was known for stage and screen roles in Withnail & I and The History Boys, but for a younger internet audience he was the actor behind Uncle Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter films1.

Word of his death spread quickly through fan communities on Reddit5 and FunnyJunk. On March 30th, FunnyJunk user lolzponies floated the idea of a "day of silence" the following Sunday as a nod to Vernon's Philosopher's Stone rant about the postal service being closed4. The suggestion was picked up almost immediately, and other users on the site started echoing it as their own tribute posts2.

How It Spread

Within hours of the FunnyJunk proposal, the tribute jumped to Reddit, where a thread called on users not to post anything in the Harry Potter forum the coming Sunday6. Tumblr users tagged reblogs and fan art under "No Posts on Sunday," turning the phrase into a searchable rallying point across the platform9 11.

When March 31st actually arrived, the results were ironic. FunnyJunk's front page filled with duplicate image macros announcing the silence rather than observing it, and the site logged its own wave of "No Posts on Sundays, Bitches" style jokes built around Vernon's face8. A parallel Facebook page picked up the phrase as well, keeping it circulating past the original 24-hour window10.

The tribute did not stick as a recurring annual event, but the underlying Vernon Dursley quote survived as a reusable Harry Potter reaction image. Fans still trot out the "No Post on Sundays" line whenever mail, delivery or weekend routines come up in Harry Potter discussion threads2.

How to Use This Meme

The typical format pairs a still of Uncle Vernon mid-shout from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with the caption "NO POST ON SUNDAYS" in white Impact text1. Common variations swap the second line to comment on whatever the poster is actually refusing to do that day, or use the quote as a reply to any question about weekend mail, deliveries or scheduling2.

Frequently Asked Questions

References (11)