When is Labor Day and why do we celebrate it?

Fernando Cervantes Jr., Arizona Republic
·2 min read

Labor Day is a federal holiday that celebrates the achievements and efforts of all American workers.

Celebrated on the first Monday in September, the holiday was established with the goal of giving workers a much-needed day off to rest and celebrate with family.

According to statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 156 million Americans are part of the workforce in the United States. Of these, the majority are concentrated in the service sector with more than 111 million workers.

When is Labor Day 2023?

Labor Day is on September 4 this year. The holiday is observed on the first Monday of the month, which has always been the case since the holiday’s enactment by the United States Congress in 1894.

Labor Day weekend road trips: These Arizona events are worth the drive

What is Labor Day?

Labor Day is actually older than the 1894 act by Congress. The holiday actually has a longer history, beginning about 12 years earlier in New York. On Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City the first Labor Day celebration was held.

This first celebration was held at a time when conditions for workers were far from where they are now. In the late 1800s, Americans worked 12 hours a day, including weekends, and children worked alongside their parents in the mines and factories of the day.

The first celebration was also a sort of one-day strike, with workers asking for better pay and shorter hours. These demands from the labor movement eventually gave us the eight-hour workday and five-day workweek.

Although New York had held an unofficial Labor Day celebration in 1882, almost five years later, Oregon was the first state to declare it an official holiday with Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York following suit.

By 1894, when Labor Day was declared a national holiday by then President Grover Cleveland, 23 states had already adopted the holiday.

What other federal holidays are left in 2023?

After Labor Day there are still other federal holidays left in the calendar:

  • Monday, October 9 - Columbus Day.

  • Friday, November 10 - Veterans Day.

  • Thursday, November 23 - Thanksgiving Day.

  • Monday, December 25 - Christmas Day.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: When is Labor Day and why do we celebrate it?