Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

Yes, it was not the Russians who gave the ideals of the rights of workers for the first time, and Britain was not the only state where we find the young and exploited Oliver Twists and David Copperfields. When Dickens was talking about the exploitation of the work force in England, and before Russia gave Socialism to the world, Americans were already conscious enough of the rights of workers, as is evident by Labor Day.

The current face of Labor Day marks the end of the hot and tiring days of summer and the beginning of the Fall. The day however, has a history of its own in the backdrop.

Americans, like the workers in England and Russia, were facing the problem of long working hours, low wages, and unsafe working environment in the late nineteenth century. Certainly, industrialization was started in Britain, but the effects of it were seen in the whole world, in the form of Labor exploitation.

And as all the stories of revolutions go, the workers demanded some reforms in the working hours and other regulations made for the industries and labor. It was on September 5, 1882, the Central Labor Union of New York, organized a march for the workers and they took to the streets of New York City. Starting from here, many reforms took place, and one of them was having a three-day weekend, as a national holiday for all the workers.

There is also the tradition of not wearing white after the Labor Day, as white is associated with summers and Labor’s Day signifies the end of it.