Sure The Sales Are Great, But What Is Labor Day Really About?

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EVERYONE looks forward to Labor Day, I mean C’mon it’s a MONDAY off. Could it get better?

What there are fabulous weekend long sales too?!

Ok so it’s great but why do we really even have Labor Day, and should we be teaching our children about the true meaning?

In a word, yes.

The very first Labor Day was observed on September 5th, 1882 in New York City. The day of rest was created by labor movements and early unions to show appreciation for workers and, “[their] social and economic achievements.” 

Why is this important?

When the first Labor Day was enacted work was hard. Like real hard. This was the turn of the century, the industrial age and truly a fresh nation. Building infrastructure and cities were backbreaking, sometimes deadly work. Early unions wanted to give back and show workers that they understood the sacrifices they made to further our young nation.

These days, not many of us are accustomed to the physical labor and 16-hour workdays of the past, however working Americans deserve a day devoted to the appreciation of how far we’ve come.

A fantastic movie to show your little ones is Newsies.  This movie while also being a Broadway sensation depicts the life of the working children from this time.  Not only will the music and dancing keep your children entertained, the message behind the movie – that every person’s choices can change the world – is a life a lesson worth teaching!

This Labor Day, if you’re interested in educating your children on this day of rest, tell them about working conditions back in the day, and ask them to think about how far we’ve come as a nation.

I wish everyone a Happy Labor Day, and personally, thank you for you and your family’s contributions to our country.

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Whitney Simun
Whitney is new to OC, a transplant from Metro-Detroit, Michigan. Whitney owns McKenna Social Media, a social media marketing agency that operates wherever she goes! She also does PA work for celebrities and travels to assist at Comic Cons all over the world. Recently she started Bargain Babes of OC, a Facebook group to encourage and promote money saving amongst OC moms. Whitney is the proud mother of a two year old little boy who fills her days with joy. Her husband Randall is an account manager at Google, the job that brought them out here! Whitney enjoys spending time with her family, saving money and running her own business. She's looking forward to sharing her money saving tips, and joining the all the community events the OC has to offer.