今天，是美國勞動節（Labor Day）。「五一」國際勞動節發端於美國，然而美國的勞動節卻在每年9月的第一個星期一。勞動節是紀念工人為國家的繁榮和福祉所作的貢獻，向工人表示敬意的日子。
美國勞動節的創立
第一次勞動節慶祝活動已經有一個多世紀了，但對於誰首先提出了為工人假期的提議，仍然存在一些疑問。一些記錄表明，木匠與木匠兄弟會秘書長、美國勞工聯合會的聯合創始人彼得·麥奎爾（Peter J. McGuire）首先建議設立勞動節，以紀念那些「由粗魯的自然鑽研並雕刻出所有我們看到的宏偉。」
還有許多人認為機械師Matthew Maguire（而不是Peter McGuire）創立了這個假期。近期的研究似乎更支持這一論點：馬修·馬奎爾（Matthew Maguire）後來擔任新澤西州帕特森市國際機械師協會秘書，並在1882年擔任紐約中央工會秘書期間提出了這個設想。顯然，中央工會通過了勞動節提案，並任命了一個委員會來計劃一次遊行和野餐。
勞動節的來歷
根據中央工會的計劃，1882年9月5日星期二在紐約市慶祝了第一個勞動節假期。一年後的1883年9月5日，中央工會舉行了第二個勞動節假期。
到1894年，又有23個州採用了該假日，1894年6月28日，格羅弗·克利夫蘭總統籤署了一項法律，規定每年9月的第一個星期一為聯邦假日。
慶祝方式
婦女輔助印刷工會在假期的第一個提案中，概述了勞動節的慶祝形式——向公眾展示社區「貿易和勞工組織的力量和精神」的遊行，緊隨其後的是為工人及其家人提供娛樂，這成為勞動節慶祝活動的模式。後來還增加了介紹著名工人的演講，因為人們更加重視假期的經濟和公民意義。再後來，根據1909年美國勞工聯合會公約的一項決議，將勞動節之前的星期日定為勞動星期日，致力於勞動運動的精神傳承和教育。
隨著時間推移，在辦公室上班以及從事服務工作的美國人已經超出了工廠工人的人數，勞動節不再僅僅是產業工人的節日，而是全民共慶的假日。
勞動節是美國人夏天的最後假日，對多數人來說，這一天不用勞動、不用工作。人們舉行遊行、集會，與親朋好友團聚、在戶外烤肉、出門旅遊，以及觀看球賽，熱鬧地吃喝、唱歌、跳舞。入夜，有的地方還會放焰火。
不過，勞工節和美國勞工之間的紐帶並沒有被切斷，美國人把勞工節做為承認勞動者對美國經濟和社會所做重要貢獻的一種表示。
History of Labor Day
Labor Day: What it Means
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Labor Day Legislation
The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed in 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During 1887, four more states – Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York – created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
Founder of Labor Day
More than a century after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.
Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."
But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.
The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.
A Nationwide Holiday
Women's Auxiliary Typographical UnionThe form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.