Monday, September 2, 2013

WHAT IS LABOR DAY?


Here in the States we celebrate Labor Day the first Monday each September.  I wasn’t sure exactly why so I had to research the history on the Internet.

In the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution was in full force with the average American working 12-hour days every day of the week in order to make a living. Children also worked because they were cheap labor and there were no child labor laws. [I'm glad I missed this era.  We think we have it bad now.] Because of the long hours and less-than-ideal working conditions, labor unions became more prominent and started pushing for a better way of life. Their efforts included going on strike and establishing a more public presence, which led to Labor Day.

President Grover Cleveland signed a Bill in 1894 creating this annual commemoration of the workers and their contributions to the American way of life and improvement in their working conditions.

Currently Labor Day is celebrated in cities and towns across the United States with parades, picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays and other public gatherings. For many Americans, particularly children and young adults, it represents the end of the summer and the start of the back-to-school season.

Unfortunately it is not yet goodbye to summer here in North Texas since it’s over 100 degrees still.  There will be NO outdoor activities for me on this holiday.  I'm a "wuss"when there is extremely hot weather.

Seasonal » Labor Day » Labor Day
a red Signature
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

2 comments:

  1. Funny you should post this today. My daughter asked me this morning what Labor Day was, and I couldn't answer her! Thank heavens for Google. She looked it up and now we both know what it is. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete

Hey, leave me a comment so I know that I'm not talking to just myself!