May 1 - International Labor Day. The holiday, which today is celebrated in many countries of the world, has a long history. And it all started in the United States, in Chicago, where on May 1, 1886, hundreds of thousands of workers from major industrial centers came out to protest. First of all, they demanded the introduction of an 8-hour working day. The strikes were suppressed by the authorities, but subsequently flared up with renewed vigor all over the world.
On July 14, 1889, at the II Congress of the Socialist International in Paris, it was decided to hold a demonstration in different countries on one specific day, demanding a reduction of the working day to 8 hours. The day for such a large-scale demonstration was chosen on May 1 - in memory of the events in Chicago. For the first time, Labor Day was celebrated in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, USA, Norway, France, Sweden. It is interesting that in Ukraine the Day of Workers' Solidarity was first celebrated in Lviv - back in 1890.
In the Soviet Union, May 1 was defined as a day off from 1918, and 10 years later the authorities decided to make a day off the next day. And if the May 1 holiday had a historical justification, then May 2 was made as an additional day off without any arguments. Now more than 140 countries of the world celebrate the May 1 holiday at the state level, but everywhere this holiday has its own name and its own content, which is not always associated with the ideas of socialism.
In 2017, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine amended Article 73 of the Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine, according to which the “Day of International Workers' Solidarity” was renamed to “Labor Day”.
Our neighbors of the Poles, Labor Day is at the same time the beginning of the “long weekend”, because the next day - May 3, Polonia honors Constitution Day 1791 (interesting, the 18th century Polish gentry assumed similar calendar twists and turns?). Therefore, many Poles are trying to make for themselves and a date between work and the Constitution - May 2 – a day off…, which is also difficult to call ordinary, because Flag Day falls on this day.
Paradoxically, according to the letter of the Ukrainian Law, the best form of honoring Labor is its absence on this particular day, because, as before, it is a day off.
Therefore, congratulations to all workers!
Maryna Strilchuk, Yehor Vradii