Happy May 1st 🌻
Labor Day has deep and solid roots, why is it celebrated today?
The Haymarket Massacre
On May 1, 1886 , a strike was called in the United States , where workers began to protest because of the working conditions they were forced to submit to, demanding better working conditions.
At that time, in fact, the workers worked about 15 hours a day in very precarious health and safety conditions.
This strike lasted 3 days , at the end of which it resulted in a real war between the workers and the Chicago police, where 11 people lost their lives , this event was called the Haymarket massacre.
To date, however, Labor Day in the United States is not May 1st but rather September 1st , the day when the first workers began to rebel.
In fact, the first union demands began in 1885 in Australia , where the motto "Eight hours of work, eight of leisure, eight to sleep" was coined, a slogan soon shared by many workers' movements .
In England , as well as in Greece , it is celebrated on the first Monday of May, it is in fact called May Day and is linked to the traditions of the early spring festival.
In Italy , the Labor Day was adopted in 1891, but it was not so easy, it was in fact suspended during the Fascist period.
In particular in Tuscany, May 1st coincides with another day of celebration called cantamaggio . In the night between April 30th and May 1st, in fact, artists and musicians usually go around the houses to announce the arrival of spring .
Today this day serves to commemorate and remember all those people who fought for their rights and for better working and living conditions, sacrificing themselves.