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Labor Day is a legal holiday of United States that is over 100 years old. On the first Monday in September, Labor Day honors the social and economic contributions that the American worker has made to the growth health and prosperity of the country. It was first celebrated in this country in the 1880s -- at a time when people commonly worked 12-hour days. The first Labor Day rally, in 1882, was in support of an eight-hour workday. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. There is still some doubt about who first proposed a holiday to honor workers. Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." But McGuire's claim on Labor Day history has been challenged; many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. The Socialist Party held a similar celebration of the working class on May 1. This date eventually became known as May Day, and was celebrated by Socialists and communists in commemoration of the working man. In the U.S., the first Monday in September was selected to reject any identification with Communism.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parties. A street parade to exhibit to the public
"the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civil significance of the holiday. Many colleges and some secondary and elementary schools begin classes immediately after Labor Day. State parks, swimming pools, and campgrounds are all quite busy on Labor Day, as vacationers take one last advantage of the waning hot season.

Today, Labor Day is observed not only in the U.S.but also in Canada, and in other industrialized nations. While it is a general holiday in the United States, its roots in the working class remain clearer in European countries.

The Labor Day