Labor Day
Happy anti-May Day to the Americans on the list. A reminder of its
history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day
The Knights of Labor organized the original parade on Tuesday,
September 5, 1882 in New York City. In 1884 another parade was
held, and the Knights passed resolutions to make this an annual
event. Other labor organizations (and there were many), but notably
the affiliates of the International Workingmen’s Association, many
of whom were socialists or anarchists, favored a May 1 holiday. In
1886 came the general strike which eventually won the eight-hour
workday in the United States. These events are today commemorated
as Labor Day in virtually every country in the world, with the
notable exceptions being the United States, Canada, Australia and
New Zealand. With the Chicago Haymarket riots in early May of 1886,
President Grover Cleveland believed that commemorating Labor Day on
May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus,
fearing that it might strengthen the socialist movement, he quickly
moved in 1887 to support the position of the Knights of Labor and
their date for Labor Day.
In the U.S., we celebrate “Law Day” and “Loyalty Day” on May 1.
Doug