This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Patch Picks: Five Labor Day Facts

The first Monday in September is more than just a day off from work.

Today is Labor Day, but what does that exactly mean?

According to usa.gov, Labor Day celebrates “the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our nation.”

So, now that we have clarified what Labor Day is all about, give yourself a pat on the back, take the day off and enjoy a few facts you (probably) didn’t know about Labor Day!

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

1. The first Labor Day was celebrated on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union of New York City. The Central Labor Union held a second Labor Day a year later, and began urging similar organizations to follow its lead in celebrating a “workingman’s holiday.”

2. Labor Day is generally celebrated with a street parade… but it wasn’t always like that. The first few Labor Days were celebrated in style, which included ample amounts of cigars, kegs of lager and picnics. Nineteenth century unions knew how to take a holiday.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

3. No one is 100 percent sure if McGuire or Maguire founded Labor Day. Many believe the founder of Labor Day was a man named Peter J. McGuire, a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor. But others say that it was actually Matthew Maguire -- a machinist who served as secretary for the Central Labor Union.

4. Oregon was the first state to legally declare Labor Day a holiday. That same year -- 1887 -- also saw Colorado, New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey follow in the tradition. A total of 28 states had deemed Labor Day a state holiday by 1894, which was the same year President Grover Cleveland made it a national holiday.

5. “No white after Labor Day” is more symbolic than a rule. Typically, city-dwellers that were well-off enough to vacation during the hot months of summer wore white, not only as a means of escaping the heat but also as a fashionable symbol of their flight from the gritty city. In the cooler months, they would return and pull out the darker clothing, thus stowing away the breezy white apparel.

Since Labor Day is unofficially considered the end of summer, it became a guideline for the transition from warm weather to cool weather, and thus the wardrobe change from white to dark became tradition.

Happy Labor Day to all!

Author’s Note: Information provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Huffington Post.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?