Labor Day

Origin , Vice President of the American Federation of Labor, is frequently credited as the father of Labor Day in the United States. Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, diverse groups of trade unionists chose a variety of days on which to celebrate labor. In the United States, a September holiday called Labor Day was first proposed in the early 1880s. Alternative accounts of the event's origin exist. Descendants of two men with similar last names claim their great-grandfather was the true father of the holiday. In connection with this clandestine Knights assembly, a public parade of various labor organizations was held on September 5 under the auspices of the Central Labor Union (CLU) of New York. An alternative theory maintains that the idea of Labor Day was the brainchild of Peter J. McGuire, a vice president of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, which was a predecessor of the American Federation of Labor. After a visit to Toronto where he saw parades celebrating labor that May, he put forward the initial proposal in spring 1882. According to McGuire, on May 8, 1882, he made a proposition to the fledgling Central Labor Union in New York City that a day be set aside for a "general holiday for the laboring classes". According to McGuire he further recommended that the event should begin with a street parade as a public demonstration of organized labor's solidarity and strength, with the march followed by a picnic, to which participating local unions could sell tickets as a fundraiser. In 1909, the American Federation of Labor convention designated the Sunday preceding Labor Day as "Labor Sunday", to be dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement. Legal recognition The popularity of the event spread across the country. In 1887, Oregon became the first state of the United States to make Labor Day an official public holiday. By 1894, thirty U.S. states were already officially celebrating Labor Day. In that year, shortly after the Pullman Strike, the Congress passed a bill recognizing the first Monday of September as Labor Day and making it an official federal holiday. President Grover Cleveland signed the bill into law on June 28. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories have subsequently made Labor Day a statutory holiday. ==Labor Day versus May Day==

, The date of May 1 (an ancient European folk holiday known as May Day) emerged in 1886 as a holiday for the celebration of labor, later becoming known as International Workers' Day. The date had its origins at the 1885 convention of the American Federation of Labor, which passed a resolution calling for adoption of the eight-hour day effective May 1, 1886. While negotiation was envisioned for achievement of the shortened work day, use of the strike to enforce this demand was recognized, with May 1 advocated as a date for coordinated strike action. In Chicago, that strike culminated in the bloody Haymarket affair of May 4, 1886. In 1887, he publicly supported the September Labor Day holiday as a less inflammatory alternative, formally adopting the date as a United States federal holiday through a law that he signed in 1894. ==Unofficial end of summer==

Labor Day is called the "unofficial end of summer" because it marks the end of the U.S. culture's nominal summer season. Of the 7% of Americans who take two-week vacations, many take their vacations during the two weeks ending Labor Day weekend. Many fall activities, such as school and sports (particularly football), begin about this time. In the United States, many school districts resume classes around the Labor Day holiday weekend (see First day of school). Some begin the week before, making Labor Day weekend the first three-day weekend of the school calendar, while others begin the Tuesday following Labor Day. Many districts across the Midwest are opting to begin school after Labor Day. In the U.S. state of Virginia, the amusement park industry successfully lobbied for legislation requiring most school districts in the state to have their first day of school after Labor Day, in order to give families another weekend to visit amusement parks in the state. The relevant statute has been nicknamed the "Kings Dominion law" after one such park. This law was repealed in 2019. In the U.S. state of Minnesota, the State Fair ends on Labor Day. Under state law, public schools normally do not begin until after the holiday. One reason given for this timing was to allow time for schoolchildren to show 4-H projects at the Fair. In U.S. sports, Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of many fall sports. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams usually play their first games that weekend, and the National Football League (NFL) traditionally play their kickoff game the Thursday following Labor Day. The Southern 500 NASCAR auto race has been held on Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina from 1950 to 2003 and since 2015. At Indianapolis Raceway Park, the National Hot Rod Association hold their finals of the NHRA U.S. Nationals drag race that weekend. Labor Day is the middle point between weeks one and two of the U.S. Open tennis championships, held in Flushing Meadows, New York. In the fashion world, Labor Day was once considered the last day it was acceptable to wear white or seersucker. The source of the tradition lies in part with the migration of wealthy 19th century New Yorkers back from their summer-home Newport Mansions and accompanying change back from summer clothes. The traditional last day to wear straw hats moved from around Labor Day (September 1) to September 15. In 1922, the Straw Hat Riot broke out due to gangs snatching the hats of men violating this rule in New York City. The unofficial beginning of summer, and the summer fashion season in the United States, is Memorial Day. In the 2020s, some people have approved of wearing white year-round. In Washington, one popular event is the Labor Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol featuring the National Symphony Orchestra with free attendance. ==Observance dates (1971–2037)==

To take advantage of large numbers of potential customers with time to shop, Labor Day has become an important weekend for discounts and allowances by many retailers in the United States, especially for back-to-school sales. Some retailers claim it is one of the largest sale dates of the year, second only to the Christmas season's Black Friday. ==See also==