What is Labor Day anyway?

I was discussing this with Shane the other day. I commented that when I was growing up that my family always celebrated Labor Day by going camping or having a family gathering of some sort, which usually included a BBQ. Shane commented that in his family Labor Day was celebrated by doing labor. It really wasn't a holiday for him or his family.

So, it is kind of ironic that now his family has a big Ashby bash, but they also include labor. Usually this includes farm work of some sort, and then they have a big meal. This year, I don't know what it will be like because they bumped the time to 5PM and it is RAINING. So, we'll see.

Anyway, my curiosity was piqued because I couldn't remember EVER learning about why exactly we do celebrate Labor Day. I found out some very interesting things. You can read all about it HERE.

And, if you don't want to read all that, basically it was started to celebrate all the labor workers in the US, and the fact that we can WORK. I especially liked the last paragraph of that link page though...it states:

"Although Labor Day is meant as a celebration of the labor movement and its achievements, it has come to be celebrated as the last, long summer weekend before Autumn."

And that, in a nutshell, is precisely what I was taught about celebrating Labor Day. The last big HOORAH of the summer. Hope you had fun!