Monday, September 7, 2009

Labor Day

I spent Labor Day relaxing and enjoying time with family. We had a nice cookout and as always, there was way too much to eat. So I have leftovers for tomorrow. That's a good thing.

As I was relaxing, I started wondering about Labor Day. What is it? Why do we celebrate it? How did it start? All those years I worked, I never considered these questions. I knew it was a day to honor workers, but I was more concerned with just having the day off.

So today I looked it up and here is what I found: The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882 in New York City. The Central Labor Union started promoting the idea across the country and as labor unions grew, so did Labor Day. It was a day to honor the contributions of the working man with speeches, parades, and festivals. By June 28, 1894 Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September the federal holiday called Labor Day.

For more information, see:
http://www.dol.gov/OPA/ABOUTDOL/LABORDAY.HTM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day

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