Happy Labor Day! Labor Day is observed on the first Monday in September to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers. From the origin of the holiday to the old-fashioned adage “no white after Labor Day,” here are 5 interesting Labor Day facts.
Labor Day Became an Official Holiday 10+ Years After the First Labor Day Event
Although Labor Day was not declared a federal holiday until 1894, the day was recognized by labor activists and individual states. New York was the first state to introduce a bill and Oregon was the first to pass a law recognizing Labor Day in 1887. In 1887, four more states (Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York) passed laws making Labor Day an official holiday. And over the next few years, Connecticut, Nebraska and Pennsylvania joined the list. By 1894, 23 more states adopted the holiday and Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a legal holiday.
Labor Day Founder – McGuire vs Maguire
The official founder of Labor Day is still a disputed matter. Some give credit to Peter J. McGuire but others believe Matthew Maguire is the true founder. McGuire was the general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor. Some records show that he proposed the holiday in 1882. Maguire was a machinist and the secretary of the Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, New Jersey. Research shows that he also proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. Nonetheless, both men were integral in the adoption of the holiday and both attended the country’s first Labor Day parade in New York City.
The Difference Between Labor Day & May Day
May Day and Labor Day are often confused. On May 4, 1886, a labor union rally (calling for shorter working hours) in Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned violent when a bomb exploded in the crowd, killing police officers and civilians. What became known as the Haymarket Riot outraged working people and their allies across the world, and they started May Day to remember its martyrs and celebrate the struggles of working people.
While both Labor Day and May Day are both tied to the American labor movement and meant to celebrate workers, Labor Day is celebrated in the U.S. and Canada on the first Monday in September. May Day is not a federal holiday in the U.S.
Wearing White After Labor Day – A Thing of the Past
You’ve probably heard the old adage “no white after Labor Day,” but do you know where it comes from? As Emilypost.com writes, “the summer season was bracketed by Memorial Day and Labor Day. Society flocked en masse from town house to seaside ‘cottage’ or mountain ‘cabin’ to escape the heat. City clothes were left behind in exchange for lighter, whiter, summer outfits. Come fall and the return to the city, summer clothes were put away and more formal city clothes donned once more. It was an age when there was a dress code for practically every occasion, and the signal to mark the change between summer resort clothes and clothing worn for the rest of the year was encapsulated in the dictum ‘No white after Labor Day.’ And it stuck. Emilypost.com explains this is a thing of the past and that today’s fashion standards are based more on fabric choice than color.
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
