For most of my adult life the holiday has meant time off from work and a long four-day weekend perfect for a short vacation. However, when I was young, Labor Day was my mother’s birthday, picnics, magical parades and the first day of school. Today, I have children of my own who have already started their senior year of high school and college. The radio, television and even the Internet share what great savings we’ll enjoy by shopping this weekend. The end of summer is being announced as if it is a season finale instead of a change of seasons. And of course, one of my favorites, the NFL season starts on Thursday.

So today, as I thought about the holiday, I realized that I knew more about how we celebrate and little about it’s origins beyond that it honors those who labor. So in my research, I discovered that Labor Day was originated in Canada out of labor disputes in the 1870s. The parades held in support of the labor movement led to an annual celebration. In 1882, Peter J. McGuire, an American labor leader was inspired to organize the first American “labor day” after witnessing one of the labor festivals in Toronto. The first American Labor Day was on September 5, 1882.