In the United States, Labor Day is a federal holiday. It takes place on the first Monday of September.¹⁾

The purpose of the holiday is to commemorate and acknowledge the American labor movement, as well as the laborers' efforts and contributions to the growth and successes of the United States.²⁾

It falls over a three-day weekend known as Labor Day Weekend.³⁾

As the trade union and labor organizations emerged in the late nineteenth century, trade unionists urged that a day be set aside to commemorate labor.⁴⁾

The Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor sponsored “Labor Day,” and the inaugural march in New York City was arranged by them.⁵⁾

Oregon was the first state in the United States to declare it a public holiday in 1887.⁶⁾

By the time Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty states in the United States were formally celebrating it.⁷⁾

Labour Day is also observed on the first Monday of September in Canada.⁸⁾

On May 1, more than 80 nations observe International Workers' Day, the old European celebration of May Day.⁹⁾

The Second International of socialist and communist groups picked May Day to memorialize the Haymarket event, which happened in Chicago on May 4, 1886.¹⁰⁾

As the trade union and labor organizations emerged in the late nineteenth century, various groupings of trade unionists picked a number of days to commemorate work.¹¹⁾

Labor Day, a September holiday in the United States, was initially suggested in the early 1880s.¹²⁾

According to one early history of Labor Day, the celebration began in September 1882 with a General Assembly of the Knights of Labor in New York City. A public procession of several labor groups was staged on September 5 in connection with this clandestine Knights gathering under the auspices of the Central Labor Union (CLU) of New York.¹³⁾