The Styrous® Viewfinder: Postal stamps

September 4, 2023

Labor Day ~ Monday, September 4, 2023

Aqua Sunrise - September, 2023

photo by Styrous®

Two days put me in the mood of a new beginning, Labor Day & New Year's Day. New Years, the beginning of a new year, obviously. But why Labor day?

I suppose it's from my early childhood; as my life revolved around school, I considered Labor Day the end of summer and the end of the school year; the day marked the start of a whole new year of school. My recollections of school from the first grade to the beginning of high school are fond, I was excited about getting ready for it, the anticipation of learning new things, meeting new friends. High school ended that (link below).

From Wikipedia:

Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.

Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor. "Labor Day" was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, which organized the first parade in New York City. In 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday. By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty states in the U.S. officially celebrated Labor Day.

There is debate as to who started Labor Day, both Peter J. McGuire and Matthew Maguire are given credit.

The first Labor Day parade was on September 5, 1882, in New York City . . .

Occasionally Labor Day turned out to be violent. There is much more information, history and great photos to be seen on the U. S. Department of Labor official website (link below) and postage stamp images on the Smithsonian.