Labor Day is a holiday on the first Monday of September each year. But what does it celebrate?
It celebrates everyone who works and helps the country prosper. Most workers get the day off, but not everyone. Workers who are considered “essential” like police officers, hospital employees, ambulance staff, firefighters, store employees, all have to work on holidays. We are lucky that they do!
Lots of families see Labor Day as the final day of summer vacation. They celebrate with cookouts, picnics, by going to the beach or taking a three-day weekend trip.
In some places, there are parades and speeches.
History of Labor Day
In the late 1800s, workers joined together into groups called labor unions. The labor unions gave the workers a stronger voice to fight for their rights. On September 5, 1882, in New York City, 10,000 workers marched in the first Labor Day parade to celebrate their hard work and show support for their labor unions. Each year after that, more and more states joined in and began holding their own Labor Day celebrations.
It wasn’t a government holiday at the time, but was held by the labor unions. Before the day became a national federal holiday it was adopted by a number of states. The first state to officially adopt the holiday was Oregon in 1887.
No one is quite sure who first came up with the idea of a Labor Day holiday in the United States. Some people say it was Peter J. McGuire, a cabinet maker, who proposed the day in May of 1882. Other people claim that Matthew Maguire from the Central Labor Union was the first to propose the holiday.
In 1894 there was a labor strike called the Pullman Strike. During this strike union workers in Illinois who worked for the railroads went on strike, shutting down much of the transportation in Chicago. The government brought army troops in to restore order. Unfortunately, there was violence and some workers were killed in the conflict. Not long after the strike ended, President Grover Cleveland tried to heal relations with labor groups. One thing he did was to quickly have Labor Day established as a national and federal holiday.
In 1894, President Grover Cleveland and the US Congress declared Labor Day a national holiday. Today both the United States and Canada celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday in September. For many children, the holiday signals the end of summer and the start of a brand-new school year.
Fun Facts
Labor Day is said to be the third most popular day in the United States for grilling. Number one is the Fourth of July and number two is Memorial Day.
Labor Day is considered the end of hot dog season.
Around 150 million people have jobs and work in the United States. Around 7.2 million of them are school teachers.
Many other countries celebrate Labor Day on May 1st. It’s the same day as May Day and is called the International Worker’s Day.
The first Labor Day parade was in protest to poor working conditions and long 16 hour work days.
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