Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from the labour union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. The majority of countries celebrate Labour Day on May 1, and it is popularly known as May Day and International Workers' Day, while some celebrate on the first Monday of September.The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the Eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.
Image: Labour day in Scandinavia
Most countries celebrate Labour Day on May 1, known as May Day and International Workers' Day. In Europe the day has older significance as a rural festival which is predominantly more important than that of the Labour Day movement. The holiday has become internationalised and several countries hold multi-day celebrations including parades, shows and other patriotic and labour-oriented events. However, in Northern Europe, Walpurgis Night is celebrated on the preceding night and this holiday merges with the Labour Day in some countries.
May 1 is a national holiday in Albania, commemorating the Workers' Movement. During Socialist Albania, the Politburo organised pompous parades on the main boulevard of Tirana. Since the collapse of communism, however, unions organise occasional peaceful protests.
Celebrating the Australian labour movement, the Labour Day public holiday in Australia is fixed by the various state and territory governments, and so varies considerably. In both Queensland and the Northern Territory, it is the first Monday in May.
Labour Day in China is a major holiday carrying comparable significance as the National Day, which occurs on October 1, and the Spring Festival on the first day of the first lunar month.
May 1 is declared a holiday in France. The French also celebrate Le jour du muguet. Workers and students sell lily of the valley on the streets and from door-to-door to collect funds for unions and associations.
In Germany, Labour Day was established as an official holiday in 1933 after the Nazi Party rose to power. It was supposed to symbolise the new-found unity between the state and the German people. However, just one day later on May 2, 1933, all free unions were outlawed and destroyed. But since the holiday had been celebrated by German workers for many decades before the official state endorsement, the Nazi attempt to appropriate it left no long-term resentment.
In Greece, May 1 is a state holiday. Left-wing parties invariably refer to it as a "strike" instead, organizing commemorative marches throughout the country.
1 May (Día del Trabajo) is a public holiday in Guatemala. Celebrations mainly in Guatemala City with a parade held by General Workers Union and left wing parties.
India started observing Labour week beginning on May 1, 1927. However, Labour day in India is not a national holiday, but is confined to specific states. In Maharashtra and Gujarat (States in India), Labour week also coincides with 'Maharashtra Divas' and 'Gujarat Divas' (respectively, Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day) because the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were created on the same week in 1960.
In the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979–present), Labour Day (May 1) is a holiday according to Article 63 of the Iranian labour law and it is officially celebrated to acknowledge the workers contribution to economy as an important group of society by ceremonial events.
In Ireland, Labour Day falls on May Day which is a public holiday.
In Israel May 1 is not officially celebrated, but each year the socialist and Marxist youth movements arrange a parade in Tel Aviv.
In Italy, May 1 is a national holiday and demonstrations by trade unions are widespread. Since the 1990s, the unions have organised a massive free concert in Rome, with attendances topping a million people.
In 1961, Jamaican Chief Minister Norman Washington Manley proposed the replacement of Empire Day with Labour Day, a celebration in commemoration of May 23, 1938, when Alexander Bustamante led a labour rebellion leading to Jamaican independence. Until May 23, 1971, Labour Day was primarily a trade unions celebration with public rallies and marches. On occasion, opposing trade unions clashed on this day, so in 1972, Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley promoted Labour Day as a showcase for the importance of labour to the development of Jamaica, and a day of voluntary community participation to beneficial projects. Since then, Labour Day has not only been a public holiday, but also a day of mass community involvement around the country.
1 May (L-Ewwel ta' Mejju or Jum il-Ħaddiem) is a public holiday in Malta. Celebrations mainly in Valletta held by General Workers Union and Malta Labour Party.
In Mexico, Labour Day, El Día del Trabajo, is a public, federal holiday held on May 1.
Every May 1 in the Philippines, labour unions march from the Mabuhay Rotonda in the Quezon City-Manila border to Plaza Miranda to Mendiola Bridge to protest anti-labour practices and to denounce the seating president. The only exception was on May 1, 2001, during EDSA III uprising, where the protest is not related to Labour day but to unseat the president. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a State of Rebellion pursuant to Proclamation No. 38 and lifted the order on May 7, 2001.
In Syria, May 1 is a public holiday to appreciate the important rule of labourers in the society
In Trinidad and Tobago, Labour Day is celebrated every June 19. This holiday was proposed in 1973 to be commemorated on the anniversary of the 1937 Butler labour riots.
In Turkey, May 1 is celebrated as Labour and Solidarity Day, valid from 2009 and its public holiday.
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