10 Seriously Interesting Labor Day Facts Every American Should Know
Celebrate the workforce with these bits of Labor Day trivia.
When we think of Labor Day, it's usually associated with the end of white pants season, a three-day weekend, and last-hurrah summer cookouts. But there's a lot you don't know about the federal holiday. Learn about the history behind Labor Day with these fun facts. Oh, and FYI: It falls on September 6 this year!
The first Labor Day celebration was in 1882.
It was a parade planned by the Central Labor Union in New York, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Oregon, however, was the first state to pass a law making Labor Day a holiday in 1887.
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But it wasn't a legal holiday everywhere ...
The Encyclopedia Britannica says the massive Pullman Strike happened in the summer of 1894, when workers boycotted the railroads to fight for safe conditions, normal schedules, and living wages. To honor the labor movement after this, President Grover Cleveland officially declared Labor Day a national holiday, according to History.com.
Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of every September.
It falls on a different date every year, just like Easter and Thanksgiving. The very first Labor Day celebration was on September 5. This year, it is on September 2.
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The holiday is meant to honor the nearly 160 million working Americans.
The United States Census found that 159.8 million people made up the American labor force, as of May 2017. The most popular jobs among them? Retail salespeople and cashiers.
Other countries celebrate Labor Day on May 1 instead.
The rest of the world calls it International Workers' Day, and it's pretty similar to our Labor Day sentiment, according to CNN. Some people have celebrations and parades, while others use the day to advocate for workers' rights.
Most schools and jobs are closed on Labor Day — but stores stay open.
That means retail workers don't get the same well-deserved break. It's a huge holiday when it comes to sales (like Black Friday), especially for clothes and school supplies.
It's the third most popular day of the year to have a cookout.
It falls behind Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, according to a consumer survey by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association. So all the people who aren’t spending the day shopping or working are probably firing up the grill.
Labor Day marks the end of peak hot dog season.
The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says Americans consume about 7 billion hot dogs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. That huge number makes sense — just think about all the grilling at your summer parties!
And it's the beginning of back-to-school season!
It depends on the area, but many public schools have their first day of the academic year a day or two after Labor Day. Some states are even requiring schools to start after Labor Day. That leaves parents with last-minute back-to-school shopping to do on the holiday weekend!
There used to be a fashion rule saying you couldn't wear white after Labor Day.
This rule may have arisen from turn-of-the-century dress-code norms, but nowadays most people don't follow the rule and wear white clothes year-round.
Amina is a product review writer and editor who worked as an editorial assistant in the Good Housekeeping Institute from 2018 to 2020, writing original content based on GH Lab experts' product testing and analysis. Amina graduated from Montclair State University with a B.A. in communication studies and journalism.
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