Labor Day
Next: September 6, 2027
The unofficial end of the American summer.
The story
Where it comes from
Labor Day honours the American labour movement. The first parade was held in New York City on 5 September 1882; Oregon made it a state holiday in 1887 and Congress a federal one in 1894, choosing the first Monday of September rather than 1 May, which was tied to the Haymarket affair and the international socialist movement.
How it's celebrated
A long weekend of barbecues, parades and the last trip to the beach before school starts. Retail sales are heavy; the old rule against wearing white after Labor Day is mostly remembered as a joke.
Did you know
- Most of the rest of the world celebrates workers on 1 May, International Workers' Day, which itself commemorates events in Chicago in 1886.
- Canada's Labour Day falls on the same Monday, and predates the American holiday by a few years.
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