Labor Day in United States

Quick Facts
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States. It gives workers a day of rest and it celebrates their contribution to the American economy.
Local names
Labor Day
English
Día del Trabajo
Spanish
Labor Day 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Labor Day 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
List of dates for other years
Labor Day is annually held on the first Monday of September. It was originally organized to celebrate various labor associations' strengths of and contributions to the United States economy. It is largely a day of rest in modern times. Many people mark Labor Day as the end of the summer season and a last chance to make trips or hold outdoor event[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Pussy/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.jpg[/IMG]Labor Day is a day of rest for many people. ©iStockphoto.com/Marisa Allegra Williams
What do people do?
Labor Day is a day of rest or the last chance for many people to go on trips before the summer ends. For students, it is the last chance to organize parties before school starts again. In some neighborhoods, people organize fireworks displays, barbecues and public arts or sports events. The football season starts on or around Labor Day and many teams play their first game of the year during Labor Day weekend.
Traditionally, people did not wear white clothes, particularly shoes, after Labor Day. However, this custom is slowly dying out. More and more people now wear white all year round, rather than just in the summer. Similarly, it is the custom to wear a straw cowboy hat from Memorial Day until Labor Day, then a felt one until Memorial Day comes around again.
Public life
Labor Day is a federal holiday. All Government offices, schools and organizations and many businesses are closed. Some public celebrations, such as fireworks displays, picnics and barbecues, are organized, but they are usually low key events. For many teams, it is the start of the football season. As it is the last chance for many people to take summer trips, there may be some congestion on highways and at airports. Public transit systems do not usually operate on their regular timetables.
Background
The first Labor Day was held in 1882. Its origins stem from the desire of the Central Labor Union to create a holiday for workers. It became a federal holiday in 1894. It was originally intended that the day would be filled with a street parade to allow the public to appreciate the work of the trade and labor organizations. After the parade, a festival was to be held to amuse local workers and their families. In later years, prominent men and women held speeches. This is less common now, but is sometimes seen in election years. One of the reasons for choosing to celebrate this on the first Monday in September was to add a holiday in the long gap between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/labor-day

To a lot of foreigners living in the United states, like myself, it's just another day. I'm going to a friend's house to eat and play xbox. What do yall have planned?

NOTHING! It's been raining like crazy the last 4 days!! Usually in La. everyone is on the water. You can literally go from Baton Rouge all the way to Slidell, Madisonville, and Mandeville hitting every bar on the way. They have poker runs which are just another slut fest, but it is fun. Looks like everyone is indoors on the computer this year!

I've always wondered what Latino's and other foreigners thought of our US specific holidays.

I like holidays and i try to indulge in the special culture it tells about the country. In Austria we have too many catholic holidays. I don`t remember many holidays being about anything else except about religiously inspired ones. So its a nice change to have a holiday that is actually inspired by something more "realistic".