Meanings for the Day
This is the start of the Labor Day weekend, with a national and state holiday on Monday. It’s the last “three day weekend” of the year and ends with a day that was originally meant to honor those who labored in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. It’s been closely associated with the labor union movement.
But Labor Day isn’t as closely tied to that as it used to be, because of the declining influence of such unions in the country. Now, for many, it’s simply another day off tied to the federal Monday holiday laws.
Labor Day also used to mean the end of summer and the start of K-12 school the next day. But those days are long passed, with many schools already having been in session for two weeks by now.
Labor Day used to mean one last family bash, perhaps the end of a vacation or a big picnic. But that’s not really happening this year either, due to COVID-19. Staycations have become the norm, and backyard barbecues just aren’t the same when people have to slide a mask out of the way in order to take a bite out of a hot dog.
And while I’m not really into this, it was tradition that you should not wear white after Labor Day…but I’m told even that is no longer the case.
Many countries around the world celebrate a workers day on May 1st. Legend has it that Labor Day was chosen as the first Monday in September because it would give folks a holiday in between Independence Day and Thanksgiving. Well, at least that is still part of the tradition.News/Talk 1540 KXEL · Iowa Politics — Fri. Sep. 04, 2020
