As holidays go, Labor Day doesn’t pack quite the emotional punch of Memorial Day, or provide religious imagery for believers, as with Christmas. Googling “Labor Day food” on Google yields thousands of links to picnic and grilling tips, but nothing as metaphorical as the Thanksgiving turkey and fixings.
It seems that a celebration of work, preferably undertaken via a day of rest, would suffice for relevance. Actually most of the planet agrees; however, their holiday is May Day, honored in the spring.
So, here’s a refresher.
Clicking through, you’ll observe that the impetus for Labor Day’s placement in September was the Haymarket Riot of 1886, followed by the Pullman Strike in 1894, these being key events in the development of the modern labor movement in America. We tend to forget these moments in time, but shouldn’t; in one way or the other, holidays function as Reminder Days in addition to their other cultural functions.
Labor Day 2024 (at History)
Labor Day 2024 will occur on Monday, September 2. Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers and is traditionally observed on the first Monday in September. It was created by the labor movement in the late 19th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. Labor Day weekend also symbolizes the end of summer for many Americans and is celebrated with parties, street parades and athletic events.
Today’s cover photo was taken on Sept. 2, 2023 at the Dane County Farmers’ Market, which circles Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin. We enjoyed a few days in that lovely state’s capital city, also visiting the nearby New Glarus Brewing Co., one of our nation’s finest “craft” brewers.
THIS is my Labor Day reverie, folks … and maybe a bratwurst with kraut. Enjoy the day.
