Happy Labor Day, everyone! I hope you’re enjoying your day off, whether of work or school. I’m sure you’re glad to have a day to hang out with family and friends, or just relax. I know I am.
But, have you ever wondered when Labor Day was founded? I began wondering this as I was gathering inspiration for this post. Its history is a bit more interesting than you might think.
The holiday we now know as Labor Day has its roots in the late 1800s, when labor activists began pushing for a holiday to recognize the contributions of American workers toward society and the nation as a whole. Digging deeper, though, the topic of who exactly proposed Labor Day becomes a lot more hazy.
According to the US Department of Labor’s official page on Labor Day, two men are the lead candidates of the disputed title of the founder of the holiday. In 1882, a labor leader named Peter J. McGuire proposed Labor Day become an official holiday. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, records from that same year also say that Matthew Maguire proposed the holiday that same year. So, who is the founder of Labor Day. Frankly, I’ve got no idea, though recent research suggests Maguire.
After the holiday was first proposed in 1882 by… someone, the holiday was first introduced through state legislation. Oregon was the first state to make it official in February of 1887. Four more states (CO, MA, NJ & NY) followed suit that same year. 23 more states would join the fun over the next seven years. Then, on June 28, 1984, president Grover Cleveland passed a law making the first Monday of every September a national holiday.
Now, I’d be willing to bet that many of you don’t give Labor Day a second thought, instead considering it an opportunity for a three-day weekend. But that’s sort of the point - to give all you working folks out there (and kids, too) a chance to relax, have an extra day out of office and school and on the beach. We deserve that.
However, as for furniture stores using it as an excuse for blowout sales…
I’m not sure the holiday’s creators had that in mind.
Also, latest update on the Kenyan election I covered in a previous post: their Supreme Court has upheld the election results. William Ruto is now Kenya's 5th president.