Labor Day is the first Monday of September, it has been a federal holiday for 117 years now. And for many Labor Day represents the ending of the summer and the beginning of school and work. However, it began as cry out from people who were working 12 hour days 7 days a week just to make enough money to barely survive on.
On September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square in New York City, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history. The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it.Because of those people, we have much better working conditions today, and that is what Labor Day originally signified.
-http://www.history.com/topics/labor-day
There's also a myth regarding Labor Day. Don't wear white after Labor Day. Hmmm...now where did this come from?
Once upon a time, (before I searched the land of Google) I had always assumed that the no white after Labor Day was due to the bad winters that some areas have. Before the eras of cell phones, cars, body heat tracers (or are those only in movies?), etc. it would be very easy to be lost in a snowstorm and not found until spring if you were wearing white.
However, according to some sources this originated due to summer clothes being white to reflect light and heat, and that the end of the summer was Labor Day, when people came back into the cities and traded in light summery clothing, for their heavier, warmer suits.
But now, Labor Day is a day of families, cook outs, friends, and laughter. Although with the way the weather was yesterday, I had to resort to using my indoor grill to cook hot dogs and some chicken. Still worth it though.
How did you celebrate your labor day? Are you wearing white after?
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