Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

The first Monday of every September is the day we must rest, is the day we celebrate the American worker, the American citizen that dedicates long hours of work in order to live a fulfilled happy life. Labor Day is the day we stand up proud of our workers, of our nation despite the efforts to make it to prosperity and happiness.

Why we need a Labor Day holiday?

Because if it weren’t for the voice of a few people, perhaps workers would still work more than 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Perhaps many would still work in terrible conditions and some diseases would still exist.

The first Labor Day in the United States of America was celebrated on September 5, 1882. The Central Labor Union of New York was the first union that integrated this holiday that in 1894 became a federal holiday. In that dreadful year, during the Pullman Strike many workers died at the hands of the U.S military and U.S Marshals. It was President Grover Cleveland who put the labor movement as a top political priority. He decided to make Labor Day a national holiday in order to prevent an even bigger tragedy.

The beginning of this holiday is attributed to Peter J. McGuire or Matthew McGuire, two men who voiced about the working conditions in many American factories, people who deserve the right to live a safe, healthy and prosperous life.

Why do we celebrate Labor Day in September?

The first Monday of September was first chosen by the Central Labor Union of New York as the perfect day for celebrating man’s work and many other unions followed the NY model. Soon all 50 states made Labor Day a state holiday. The initial celebrations included street parades, festivals for the workers and their families, speeches and barbecues. In 1909 the American Federation of Labor adopted the Sunday preceding Labor Day as “Labor Sunday.” In recent years Labor Day means the start of the NFL and college football seasons and many Hollywood producers plan to release their first autumn blockbusters before the Labor Day Weekend to cash in on their movies.

How do you celebrate Labor Day?