Serendipity35

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. I am definitely not the only person who would need to do some research to answer the who, why and when of its creation.

It originated in 1882 in New York City when the Central Labor Union wanted to mark an official day off for the working citizens. It became a federal holiday in 1894 and all fifty states have made it a state holiday.

But to most Americans it represents:

• the unofficial but symbolic end of summer


• the signal that school is starting up again (particularly K-12 schools - some colleges start before)


• a time for celebration, especially that last big barbecue, backyard blowout


• the start of pro & college football seasons


• Jerry Lewis & the telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association

Our Labor Day is a pretty low-key day of rest compared to the May 1 Labour Day celebrations in other countries that feature parades, speeches and political demonstrations. We also might have been marking Labor Day in May if it wasn't for President Cleveland hadn't feared that it would encourage socialism.

According to Wikipedia's unverified history of the holiday:

The Knights of Labor organized the original parade on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. In 1884 another parade was held, and the Knights passed resolutions to make this an annual event. Other labor organizations (and there were many), but notably the affiliates of the International Workingmen's Association, many of whom were socialists or anarchists, favored a May 1 holiday. In 1886 came the general strikewhich eventually won the eight-hour workday in the United States. These events are today commemorated as Labor Day in virtually every country in the world, with the notable exceptions being the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. With the Chicago Haymarket riots in early May of 1886, President Grover Cleveland believed that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus, fearing that it might strengthen the socialist movement, he quickly moved in 1887 to support the position of the Knights of Labor and their date for Labor Day.