Why the U.S. Celebrates Labor Day Instead of May Day

A question I get often, as an American from the United States living in Europe, is whether where I live celebrates a holiday that the people where I’m from celebrate. (Curious about why anyone would ask this question? Me too. And yet.)

I’ve even every year gotten the question for Labor Day, which takes place on the first Monday of every September each year in the United States (and, it so happens, Canada—more on that in a minute).

Short answer: Nope, nowhere I have ever lived celebrates the U.S. version of Labor Day—though they do celebrate workers.

And so, you may then ask: If many countries have a holiday to honor laborers, why isn’t it an international holiday celebrated on the same day?

Often, there may not be an official, documented reason for this type of question. But for this one—U.S. Labor Day versus the International Workers’ Day—there sure is.

Where the United States Came up with Labor Day

The United States of America created Labor Day to recognize the country’s labor movement and the contributions of laborers to the country’s efforts and history. It became an official federally recognized holiday in the country in the late 19th century.

But it didn’t begin when it started. Let me explain.

Workers in the United States actually followed the country’s northern neighbor, Canada, in organizing what started as annual parades to honor the workforce in different cities—starting with New York City, whose labor unions organized the country’s first unofficial Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882.

Other cities’ labor organizations followed New York City’s example, but nothing was official in most states—and certainly nothing was official on a federal level.

Then, in 1889, a rival day to recognize workers caught momentum: May 1.

The notion of May 1 as a holiday to celebrate workers sprung up during an international gathering of socialists in Paris. Inspired by the U.S. labor movement, they saw the date as a way to honor an event that took place in the United States on May 4: The Haymarket Affair.

The Haymarket Affair happened in Chicago in 1886, when workers demonstrated over several days—often clashing with police—to demand an eight-hour workday plus other considerations for better working conditions. (No, they didn’t succeed. Not at that time, anyway.)

Several countries and even labor unions in the United States liked the idea of celebrating workers on May 1. As the September date had nothing behind it other than a few years’ worth of tradition in a few cities, celebrating workers in the United States started to take place on either day. Celebrating on different dates then continued for quite a while.

In 1894, though, needing to appease the increasingly powerful and organized labor movement, President Grover Cleveland decided to name an official federal holiday in honor of the country’s workforce.

And he had to pick a single date.

Why the United States Doesn’t Celebrate May Day

So why, especially as May 1 honors something that happened in the United States, doesn’t the United States of America have the same day to celebrate labor as so many of the other countries around the world?

Well, the country considered it.

However, people in the labor movement at the time of The Haymarket Affair included socialists, communists, and anarchists—though, mind you, far from exclusively—and this rankled U.S. politicians. They didn’t want to encourage anything whatsoever from these political groups.

With this top of mind, President Cleveland chose to formally adopt the currently maintained first-Sunday-in-September date for the country’s workers’ and workers’ rights commemoration in 1894.

How the United States Celebrates Labor Day

What do people in the United States do to honor the holiday?

Well, not much. Nothing in particular.

Many people, especially people with government and standard-workweek office jobs, get the day off work. People who work in most service industries, though, do not. Stores and restaurants and all the rest are still open, as are customer-service departments and so on.

As the stores are open, many of them plan big sales to entice in customers who might have a three-day weekend thanks to the Labor Day holiday. You’ll especially see sales for automobiles and furniture and mattresses, oddly enough.

And finally, some people might meet up with friends for a cookout in someone’s backyard or even try to get away for an extended-weekend break.

Why Many Countries Celebrate May Day Instead of Labor Day

Though Canada joined the United States of America in formally establishing Labor Day as the first Sunday in September—after all, they started their workers’ celebrations first, and on the September schedule—a whopping eighty countries around the world celebrate workers’ efforts on May 1.

For much of the rest of the world, from Central and South America through to Africa and Asia, the idea to celebrate workers by honoring the efforts of laborers in Chicago back in 1886 caught on and stuck. (Most other countries didn’t and don’t have such a big issue with socialists as the United States.)

How International Workers’ Day is Celebrated

How do people celebrate May Day or International Workers’ Day?

First: May Day is a term that can confuse two celebrations. The May Day celebrated by gathering flowers into crowns and dancing and singing around the maypole honors the beginning of summer—not laborers.

When the term “May Day” is used as a nickname for International Workers’ Day, different countries celebrate it differently, though with some common threads.

In many cases, workers get a paid day off from work. Workers’ collectives and governments honor workers in some fashion—usually through ceremonies and speeches—in many places. In addition, workers in a given place often rally together on the holiday to raise awareness for workers’ rights and the accomplishments of workers’ organizations on behalf of laborers.

Give a Thankful Thought

Whether you celebrate workers with a day off to grill and shop or whether you watch or participate in a parade in honor of workers’ rights, I hope you do take a moment whenever your country celebrates workers to truly consider all that the labor of your fellow humans does for every city and region and country—and the world.

And add to that thought, if you could, a little appreciation for all the efforts and sacrifices laborers past and present have made to fight for minimally decent and humane working conditions and compensations for as many people as possible. (Including, I hope, for you.)

On that count, though, we all still have work to do.