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May 1st - Holiday of Work



The tradition of the first May as an international holiday of work began in 1886 with the Haymarket Incident, when the Federation of Crafts and Workers' Associations succeeded in achieving the Canadian workers' movement in particular in 1872, demanding more workers' rights, among them, in particular, a 8-hour worker. In order to support the pressure of the workers 'organizations to enter into force this law from May 1st this year, workers' trumps were organized in Chicago and started a general strike. On May 4, workers gathered at the Haymarket square, where after an initial peace, a bomb exploded outside the police and killed eight police officers. The police responded by shooting and wounding dozens of people; because many did not risk the possible arrests on official health care visits, the number of victims stopped at 11. Later, the right to an 8-hour workday was nevertheless enforced, and in the memory of the tragic event, the great riots took place in 1894 and 1919.


Following these events, this May Day in the working circles was held for the holiday of work, which people celebrated with various rituals, among others in the mass of lands, burning fires in memory of the events of 1886. In the 20th century, the first May gained official status the holiday of work, starting in the Soviet Union. Celebrations of the working day during the Cold War in the communist countries took the form of large military parades and government-supported assembly of the workers.


Today, the celebration of the first of May is still strongly associated with large gatherings or workers 'protests across many cities around the world, usually organized by workers' organizations such as trade unions. This is not the case in the United Kingdom and the United States, where, in particular in the latter, anti-communist politics in the first half of the 20th century, also known as red fear, abolished the celebration of the first May Day and replaced it with the day of law.