International Labor Day Celebration
Labor Day is celebrated to pay respect to the struggles and sacrifices of the workers and the labors movement. It is also known as May Day and is celebrated on 1st May of every year. It is celebrated across the 80 countries. It is an official public holiday in countries like People Republic of China, Cuba, Russia and North Korea. This movement was led by the Labor Union at the time when there was rise of industrialization.
Industrialists were exploiting the labor class by asking them to work for up to 15 hours a day. Finally on May i.e the first day of the month, labor union gathered courage to unite and raise voice against the industrialist for the unjust unfair treatment and also demanded that proper wages should be paid to them. They put their demands for paid leave and breaks for all the workforce. Movement was knows as eight-hour day movement as promoted eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation and eight hours for rest.
In India, the first celebration was organized in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1st May 1923. It was also the first the Red Flag was used in India since its foundation. This day is celebrated every year to spread awareness about the rights of worker and celebrate their achievements. It is a federal holiday in the United States. The three day weekend in which it falls on is declared as Labor Day weekend.
Oregon was the first state in USA who declared Labor Day as a paid holiday in 1887. By 1894 it was a paid holiday in about 30 states in USA. This day is also referred to as the unofficial end of the summer as it marks the end of cultural summer season.
As this is a paid holiday, many retailers in the United States offer discounts and allowances in the Labor Day weekend to take advantage of the huge number of potential customers. For some retailer this is their second biggest sales time just behind the Christmas season which falls at the end of the year.
