what is the story behind labor day
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Labor Day, in the United States and Canada, holiday (first Monday in September) honouring workers and recognizing their contributions to society. In many other countries May Day serves a similar purpose.
In the United States, Peter J. McGuire, a union leader who had founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881, is generally given credit for the idea of Labor Day. In 1882 he suggested to the Central Labor Union of New York that there be a celebration honouring American workers. On September 5 some 10,000 workers, under the sponsorship of the Knights of Labor, held a parade in New York City. There was no particular significance to the date, and McGuire said that it was chosen because it fell roughly halfway between the Fourth of July holiday and Thanksgiving.
In 1884 the Knights of Labor adopted a resolution that the first Monday in September be considered Labor Day. The idea quickly spread, and by the following year Labor Day celebrations were being held in a number of states. Oregon became the first state, in 1887, to grant legal status to the holiday (although the state initially celebrated it on the first Saturday in June).
That same year Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey established the holiday on the first Monday in September, and other states soon followed. In 1894 the Pullman strike in Illinois, as well as a series of unemployed workers’ riots on May Day in Cleveland, prompted U.S. Pres. Grover Cleveland to propose a bill that would make Labor Day a national public holiday. The bill, which was crafted in part to deflect attention from May Day (an unofficial observance rooted in socialist movements), was signed into law in June of that year.
what is the history of labor day
Over the years, particularly as the influence of unions waned, the significance of Labor Day in the United States changed. For many people it became an end-of-summer celebration and a long weekend for family get-togethers. At the same time, it has continued to be celebrated with parades and speeches, as well as political rallies, and the day is sometimes the official kickoff date for national political campaigns.
In Canada the first parades of workers were held in 1872 in Ottawa and Toronto, and later in that year the law making labour unions illegal was repealed. McGuire was invited to speak at the celebration in 1882. In 1894 Parliament officially recognized the holiday in Canada.
Most other countries honour workers on May Day (May 1). The day was a major holiday in communist countries, and it continues to be important where left-wing political parties and labour movements wield influence.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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Tano
Tano, Korean holiday celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to commemorate the start of summer and to honour spirits and ancestors. One of Korea’s oldest holidays, it was originally a day of games and festivities, marked by ssirum (Korean wrestling), swing competitions for women, mask dances, songs, and feasts. Typical foods included rice cakes cooked with mugwort leaves, which were believed to ward off evil spirits, and fish soup.
A number of activities were also undertaken to promote good health, including the drinking of aheho-t’ang, an herb tea that, according to legend, would make one less affected by the heat if consumed every day during the summer. Men and women also washed their hair in water that was boiled with various flowers, a practice that was thought to repel bad spirits and diseases. Specially made fans were often given as gifts. Although no longer officially observed, Tano is still celebrated, especially in the countryside, and ssirum competitions are often televised.
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Most Americans associate Labor Day with the end of summer. But the holiday was originally a form of worker activism during a period of rapid industrialization. Solidarity, not barbecue, was the buzzword back then.
history
The 1882 event began with a march in Manhattan from City Hall to Union Square. According to local newspapers, 10,000 to 20,000 workers from various trade organizations participated in the parade, including unions representing jewelers, painters, dock builders, cigar-makers and typographers.
Many participants held signs advocating for workers’ rights, such as “Eight hours a legal day’s work,” “Labor must use the ballot” and “To the workers should belong the wealth.” As they marched, bands performed songs such as “When I First Put My Uniform On.”
Local papers described seamstresses and other laborers opening their windows along the parade route, waving handkerchiefs and cheering in solidarity with the marchers.
The day concluded with festivities in Elm Park. Between 20,000 and 50,000 workers and their families spent the afternoon enjoying food and drink, along with live music and dancing.
While the event did include fun and festivities, the holiday was also a form of political action. The CLU deliberately chose to hold the parade on a workday so that those who participated could give up a day’s pay in symbolic support for improved working conditions and fairer wages.
Why Can’t You Wear White After Labor Day?
While Labor Day might be a federal holiday to celebrate American employees, it also marks an important date in the sartorial calendar.
As the age old adage goes, Labor Day marks the last day in the calendar year that fashionistas should don white.
But where does the rule come from, and can you really not wear white after Labor Day?
Why Can’t You Wear White After Labor Day?
Truthfully, there is nothing to stop you wearing whatever you want, whenever you want but there are a couple of theories as to wear the sartorial rule comes from.
The first is to do with practicality.
As Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September, it marked the end of the traditional summer and beginning of autumn.
In the early to mid-20th Century, with no air-conditioning, wearing white was an easy way to keep cool, swapping these lighter clothes for fabrics with darker hues as the temperature began to chill.
