The first Labor Day parade was held on September 5, 1882, in New York City. It was organized by various labor organizations under the supervision of the Central Labor Union of New York. In 1894, Labor Day became an official Federal holiday. The town in which I live still holds an annual Labor Day parade. The union members march in the parade and after the parade, there is a picnic for the union members and their families.
Most people, however, consider Labor Day weekend to be the last big party weekend of the summer. They may take trips out of town and/or go camping, boating and drinking. These folks probably don't think about the real meaning of Labor Day and what it represents.
Labor Day may have started in 1882, but the idea of enjoying the fruits of your labor was thought about a lot earlier than that. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon wrote several verses about work and how labor should be enjoyed. Here are the verses in Ecclesiastes that reference labor:
Ecclesiastes 2:24 - Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 - Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.
Ecclesiastes 8:15 - So I commended enjoyment, because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry; for this will remain with him in his labor all the days of his life which God gives him under the sun.
So enjoy the Labor Day holiday! Thanks for reading and see you next time!
Diane
Bibliography:
Labor Day, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Day
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