San Diego real estate blog - Peter Toner

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.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday. As originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and Celebrate a “workingman’s holiday” on that date. This idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday – a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.

It is appropriate, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership – THE AMERICAN WORKER.

All other holidays are in more or less degree connected with conflicts of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day is devoted to man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.

Labor Day constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of the summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school.