For many, Memorial Day symbolized the unofficial start of summer and similarly, Labor Day serves as its counterpart symbolizing the end of summer. This comes from the fact that for most children and young adults school is in full swing by or the week of Labor Day associating it with the end of summer.
While it may be the end of summer vacation, the end of the season officially comes on September 22 giving us more than a few more days to soak up the summer sun. Whether you’re in school or not we can all enjoy one last day of vacation.
This year Labor Day falls on Monday September 4th. For those who can’t seem to remember the date, just keep in mind that Labor Day always falls on the first Monday of September. Also known as workingmen’s holiday, Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894. At its core Labor Day is a celebration of workers and their achievements. These achievements come from the protesting of unsafe and overall poor working conditions in the late 1800s.
Part of these poor working conditions are reflective upon 12-hour work days, 7 days a week with even children as young as 5 in these conditions. September 5, 1882 is known to be the first Labor Day Parade in which New York workers took the day unpaid to march from City Hall to Union Square.
While there are many people who contributed to workers’ rights and the establishment of this holiday, it is still unknown who the founder of Labor Day is. Regardless, take this Monday and enjoy a day off in the sun.
