Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

Yes, Labor Day will soon be here. Most people will be enjoying the day with their friends and family. There will be barbecues. There will be parties. There will be celebrating. Yet, have you really stopped and thought about why we celebrate Labor Day?

Labor Day is the day we stop and celebrate the working men and women in America. Both the United States and Canada celebrates this holiday. It became a national holiday in 1894.

It is not known for sure who exactly came up with the idea behind this holiday. However, most historians have given this honor to Peter McGuire. Peter McGuire was the general secretary of The Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. He was also the cofounder of the American Federation of Labor. It is believed that it was his idea to have a day in which workers could show their solidarity. Yet, there are others who believe that Matthew Maguire was the one who came up with the idea. Matthew Maguire did become the secretary of the Local 344 branch of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey.

The first Labor Day Parade occurred in 1882 on September 5^th. They choose September because it was a month that was between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. The news of this holiday began to spread. Soon many states began celebrating it before it was designation a national holiday,

President Grover Cleveland was the president that signed the law that made Labor Day a national holiday and declared that it would occur on the first Monday of September. He did this even though he was not a supporter of the unions.

Some people believe that President Cleveland declared Labor Day as a holiday to help salvage some political damage that occurred after a strike that occurred with the Railroad Union. He sent in troops to stop the strike and 34 workers died as a result.

Other parts of the world, has a similar holiday known as May Day. This includes most European countries and China. This holiday falls on the first of May and it is known as a day to celebrate its workers.

Today, Labor Day seems to be more about celebrating the end of summer, thus the barbecues and the picnics then its first days. For this reason, maybe this year with so many people needing jobs so badly, let's hope more people will remember the true meaning of Labor Day. Lets also hope thus with good jobs will consider themselves lucky and remember those who fought so hard in the beginning to help secure our futures.

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