Labour Day

Labour Day is an holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from efforts of the 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.



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.

Labour Days on the First of May

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, Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria,Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritius, México, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, , the Philippines , Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Serbia, Sweden, Syria, Thailand,Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.


In Slovenia, Serbia, Russia and Ukraine, May 2 is also a national holiday.

In , while May 1 is a national holiday, it was renamed from Labour Day to simply "State Holiday" in 1990.

Albania

May 1 is a national holiday in Albania, commemorating the Workers' Movement. During Socialist Albania, the organized pompous parades on the main boulevard of Tirana. Since the collapse of communism, however, unions organize occasional peaceful protests.

Australia

Celebrating the Australian labour movement, the Labour Day public holiday is fixed by the various governments, and so varies considerably. It is the first Monday in October in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia. In both and Tasmania, it is the second Monday in March . In Western Australia, Labour Day is the first Monday in March. In both Queensland and the Northern Territory, it is the first Monday in May.

The Bahamas

Labour Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June, and is a public holiday.

Canada

Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in Canada since the 1880s. The origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to April 14, 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week. The Toronto Trades Assembly called its 27 unions to demonstrate in support of the Typographical Union who had been on strike since March 25. As its name suggests, the day was used to celebrate the British Empire and England, complete with flag-raising ceremonies and the singing of patriotic songs.

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 leading to Jamaican independence.

Until May 23, 1971, Labour Day was primarily a trade unions celebration with public rallies and marches..

The United States

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday that takes place on the first Monday of September.