Monday, September 04, 2006

Labor Day -- The unofficial end of summer in the U.S.

Most U.S. blogs will be quiet today. Labor Day is our last summer holiday. It not only marks the unofficial end of summer, but heralds the start of the school year.

Labor Day started as a holiday in the 1882. In 1884, its celebration moved to the first Monday of the month and has stayed on that day ever since. You can read the history of Labor Day on the U.S. Department of Labor web site.

However, in many countries Labour Day -- or the International Workers' Day -- is celebrated on May 1. This holiday also traces its history to the U.S. and the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago. To read about that Labour Day, go to this Wikipedia site.

Thanks to our efforts to digitize history -- whether that means retyping information or digitizing old articles and photos -- it is easy to share information on the two Labor Days and hopefully see both as worth celebrating.

Have a good holiday!

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