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May Day
international observance
Also known as: International Workers’ Day, Workers’ Day
Top Questions
Why is May Day celebrated?
Why is May Day celebrated?
What event does May Day commemorate?
What event does May Day commemorate?
May Day, day commemorating the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement, observed in many countries on May 1. In the United States and Canada a similar observance, known as Labor Day, occurs on the first Monday of September. In 1889 an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions designated May 1 as a day in support of workers, in commemoration of the Haymarket Riot in Chicago (1886). Five years later, U.S. Pres. Grover Cleveland, uneasy with the socialist origins of Workers’ Day, signed legislation to make Labor Day—already held in some states on the ...(100 of 319 words)