is a
United States Federal Holiday that takes place on the first Monday in September. The holiday began in 1882, originating from a desire by the
Central Labor Union to create a day off for the "working man". It is still celebrated mainly as a day of rest and marks the symbolic end of summer for many. Labor Day became a federal holiday by
Act Of Congress in
1894 .
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Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.
Today Labor Day is often regarded simply as a day of rest and, compared to the
May 1 Labor Day Celebrations in most countries, parades, speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key, although especially in election years, events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office. Forms of celebration include
Picnic s,
Barbecue s,
Fireworks Display s, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age
Child ren take it as the last chance to
Travel before the end of
Summer . Some
Teenager s and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to
School . However, of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as the 24th of July in many urban districts, including
Nashville and
Atlanta . In addition, Labor Day marks the beginning of the season for the National Football League and NCAA College Football. The NCAA usually plays their first games the weekend of Labor day, with the NFL playing their first game the Thursday following Labor Day.
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 Strike which 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.
A recurring Labor Day event in the United States, since 1966, is the
Annual Telethon of the
Muscular Dystrophy Association , hosted by
Jerry Lewis to fund research and patient support programs for the various diseases grouped as
Muscular Dystrophy . The telethon raises tens of millions of
Dollars each year.
Labor Day weekend also marked the annual running of the
Southern 500 at
Darlington Raceway in
Darlington, SC . The race was run at any time during the weekend from
1950 -
2002 . In
2004 ,
NASCAR began racing on Labor Day weekend at
California Speedway in
Fontana, CA . This dropped the race to November in the schedule for 2004 which became a night race and was dropped altogether in
2005 in favor of a
Mother's Day weekend night race.
