May 1st, International Labor Day

May Day, May 1st, often refers to different the labor celebrations conducted on May 1 that celebrate the fight for the eight hour day. Labor Unions brought you the 8 hour work day, not to mention the concept of the weekend. May Day is also called International Workers' Day, or Labor Day. The selection of May 1st was a commemoration by the Second International for the people involved in the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, Illinois.

The Haymarket incident was the culmination of three days of labor unrest in the United States. It was a source of outrage and admiration from people around the world. In countries other than the United States, curiously, and Canada, residents sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts succeeded. For this reason, in much of the world, May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. Banks and public sector and most private sector employees have the day off. It is one of the most widely celebrated global holidays.

Although May Day received its inspiration from the United States, the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958 due to the day's appropriation by the Soviet Union. The US refused to label May 1st as Labor Day due to Cold War politicking. Alternatively, Labor Day traditionally occurs sometime in September in the United States. Some view this as an effort to isolate American workers from the worldwide community. Although certain countries do not celebrate May Day, people from around the globe continue to use May Day parades as an opportunity to show disapproval with the government or to protest cuts in social programs.