"Genius begins great works. Labor alone finishes them." - Joseph Joubert
Summer may not be technically over until the Fall Equinox on September 22 this year, but with empty streets and beaches and the kids headed back to school, it's difficult to think otherwise, especially for those living on the coasts and in tourist areas. Summer houses and vacation rentals go dark at night, the days become shorter, and life resumes its presummer rituals unbroken by cookouts and daily trips to the beach. It's a sad time for some.
For those tired of the relentless heat and sequestered in air-conditioned rooms, Autumn means joy and relief, a respite from all that makes them sweat. But, regardless, things change on Labor Day, equinox or not. So dip your toes one more time in the ocean, and put a few steaks on the grill. Summer is over.
Celebrate, anyway, and forge ahead to Labor Day.
Who put the Labor in Labor Day?
Regularly celebrated on the first Sunday in September, but who first proposed the holiday for workers? Truthfully, that's unclear, but two workers can make a solid claim to the Founder of Labor Day.
First, Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor and general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, suggested setting aside a day for a general holiday for the laboring classes, "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged.
Others believe that machinist Matthew Maguire, not Peter McGuire, actually founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support this, stating he proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.
Regardless, the first Labor Day celebration was the Labor Day parade in New York City on September 5, 1882. Its origins stem from the Central Labor Union's and other labor organizations' desire to create a holiday for workers. Oregon was the first state to pass it as a legal holiday in 1887, and by the end of the same year, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York had passed laws creating a Labor Day holiday. President Grover Cleveland finally made it a federal holiday in 1894. And we've been celebrating it ever since.
This Labor Day, as you and your employees leave the summer behind for one more year, remember that labor has raised the nation's standard of living and contributed to the greatest methods of production the world has ever known. We have lots to be proud of here. And we have a lot to be proud of at Arriving in Style Gifts. Our curated gift boxes will make the transition from summer to autumn as beautiful as the change of seasons themselves.
So, appreciate your employees, the ones who make your business grow and even thrive. Gift them with the best from Arriving in Style Gifts, where there's never enough giving.