Labor Day 2026: Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

When Is Labor Day 2025?

Labor Day is celebrated annually, always on the first Monday in September. Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States. 

Why Do We Celebrate Labor Day?

The funny thing about Labor Day is that it’s one of the few days each year that most of us don’t work. What better way to celebrate work than by not doing any! On Labor Day, we honor the value of labor by putting it out of our thoughts for an extra-long weekend.

Work is an activity we esteem most when we’re not doing it. In a period of unemployment, for example, work seems like the grandest and most longed-for opportunity of all. Work is, therefore, a blessed endeavor. Whether it’s baking a casserole or doing laundry, serving customers or compiling a report, teaching a class, or making a hospital bed: Our daily labors earn our daily bread and more.

Labor Day is an opportunity to celebrate the American worker. The founders of the holiday envisioned it as a way to honor the workers in the U.S., the people who were the driving engine behind the most productive economy in the world and who defined the American work ethic, leading to one of the highest standards of living in the world. 

Labor Day not only celebrates American workers but also the rules and guidelines put into place, starting during the Labor Movement of the late 1800s, to improve their quality of life. These new laws mandated days off, limited working hours, and safer conditions. 

Who “Invented” Labor Day?

Although Peter J. McGuire is often credited with coming up with the idea of Labor Day, recent research has shown that similarly named Matthew Maguire is more likely the originator. Either way, the holiday dates back to 1882. That year, either McGuire, a labor union leader who was the general secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, or Maguire, secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, proposed the holiday, and the Central Labor Union adopted the proposal and made it happen. The date, McGuire suggested, was chosen simply for its convenience of falling “nearly midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.”

Which President Started Labor Day?

In the U.S., the first Labor Day parade was on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September a legal national holiday every year.

The first Labor Day celebrations were parades to show the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by festivals designed for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. Speeches by prominent union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics, and government officials were among the day’s highlights.

How to Celebrate Labor Day Today

Even though the American workforce has changed dramatically since the Industrial Revolution, many Americans still work more hours and take less vacation than their Western counterparts. We are constantly connected to our jobs with little respite, and we all desire a good standard of living. 

Here are some ways to celebrate Labor Day.

1. If you’re able to do so, take this day off to simply give yourself a break from your hard work because you deserve this national day of leisure. After all, work is where and how we spend most of our time. Also, take a moment to reflect on this history and the many American workers who came before us—to build our railways, roads, infrastructure, and more.
    
2. Attend a Labor Day parade. Many cities and towns throw a parade or a festival. Or, enjoy a picnic or barbecue as our ancestral workers did so many years ago—and enjoy the last hurrah of summer!

3. Grill out while the weather is still nice! Barbecues, outdoor cooking, and picnics are traditional on Labor Day. Relax outside, and don’t spend too much time in the kitchen. 

Labor Day Recipes

We’ve got some delicious recipe ideas below, courtesy of the Almanac cookbooks!

• Summer Sliders (Burgers)
• Maple Baked Beans
• Summer Salsa Salad
• Country-Style Root Beer Glazed Ribs
• Watermelon Cucumber Salad
• Best Brownies
• Cherry Pie

Also, see our collections of grilling recipes and cold picnic recipes.

Why Can’t You Wear White After Labor Day?

Now, let’s get to that common question. Why is there an old-time rule about not wearing white after Labor Day? And does it still apply?

One theory about wearing white is simply that it’s cooler in an age before air conditioning; white reflects the sun instead of absorbing it. Another theory is that the end of summer meant a return to the city and work life, as many people used to take the month of August to visit the seashore. Returning to city life (often dirty) meant that dark clothes returned, and the whites weren’t practical.

Of course, this idea of “summering” was more for the wealthy who could leave the city in the days of no air conditioning to escape to the seashore or mountains. So, wearing white was for those who could afford to stay clean and travel. 

Today, there really aren’t such rules about white clothing. We have air conditioning, we have lighter fabrics, and clothing has generally become more casual and comfortable versus the more formal suits and work clothes of the past decades. 

Still, some of us naturally change our color themes as autumn begins, just as the flowers and trees do. Consider the jewel colors of fall mums as well as the autumn foliage! What do you do?