Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

 I heard a news reporter today say that Labor Day was over 100 years old. The reporter next to him said "so that means there have been more than 100 years of cookouts and festivals!" 

 I thought maybe we all could use a remember what this day is all about...

J.Rae, being "riveting"

When & Why
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a result of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.  The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. It is a yearly tribute to the workers who have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country possible.

What does that mean?
We are celebrating the hard working people of our country.  Without "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" our every day lives would not be as they are - consider the roads you drive on to get to work/school, the car you drive, the house you live in, the electricity you use, and the food you eat. Without the labor unions, much of this would not be possible - nor would we have things like weekends! 

Labor is vital to maintain (and strengthen) to our standard of living. Many of the things we take for granted are brought to us by our labor force. It is appropriate that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creators of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker!

This work by Little Mom on the Prairie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.