More than 80 countries around the world have a Labor Day or workers’ holiday, and many of them celebrate it on a completely different day than the United States.
Much of the world marks International Workers’ Day, also called May Day, on May 1. It’s a public holiday across much of Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, and in many countries it’s a far more overtly political occasion than the American version, with union rallies and demonstrations rather than a relaxing long weekend with family and friends.
The Event Behind May Day Happened in Chicago
American labor organizations had chosen May 1, 1886, as the date for a nationwide push for an eight-hour workday, with Chicago as one of the movement’s major centers. On May 4, a labor rally at Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned violent after a bomb was thrown as police moved to disperse the crowd. Police officers and protesters were killed in the ensuing violence.
The Haymarket Affair became a powerful symbol for labor movements worldwide. In 1889, an international congress of socialist and labor organizations meeting in Paris called for May 1 to become an international day of action. May Day was born.
America’s Labor Day Came First
The United States already had its own Labor Day tradition before Haymarket ever happened. On September 5, 1882, New York City’s Central Labor Union organized what’s generally recognized as the first Labor Day celebration, with thousands of workers parading through Manhattan. The tradition spread to other states, and in 1894, Congress made the first Monday in September a national holiday, signed into law by President Grover Cleveland.
Unlike May Day, America’s Labor Day wasn’t created as a response to Haymarket. It was already here, four years earlier.
Some Countries Do Their Own Thing Entirely
Japan celebrates Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23, centered on gratitude rather than activism. New Zealand marks Labour Day on the fourth Monday in October. Australia has no set national date at all, varying by state between March and October. In Kazakhstan, May 1 is People’s Unity Day, celebrating the country’s ethnic and cultural diversity instead.
Different dates, different traditions, same basic idea: a day set aside to recognize the people who do the actual work.
Happy Labor Day from all of us at DailyFed. Enjoy your long weekend.
