So many of us love our day off from the day to day grind. A day to celebrate ourselves, The hard working people that keep the world turning.

But do you know why we celebrate? Here is a short history of Labor Day and why we celebrate it.

Most people look at Labor day as the cultural “End Of Summer”. The last weekend to get out and camp, BBQ, and enjoy the beautiful weather. A celebration of Summer, if you will. But in 80 other countries around the world, it is celebrated on May 1st, or May day. This is done in remembrance of the Haymarket Affair in Chicago, May 4th, 1886.

A peaceful protest was taking place in support of workers who were striking for the, now standard, 8 hour work day. A bomb was set off in the crowd, killing one man and injuring many others.

The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5th, 1882 in NYC. The photo above shows the March through the city in support of the Labor Unions. Whilst New York was the first state to introduce a bill for an official Labor day, Oregon was actually the first state to legally recognize the holiday, signing the bill Feb. 21st, 1887. Many other states would follow quickly, until it finally became federally Legal on June 28th, 1894.

There’s a lot more behind the holiday and I would highly recommend taking a little time to dig deeper for yourself. It’s a fascinating history that should not be forgotten over the BBQ.