Is it May or September?

Ask German students when Labor Day is celebrated in Germany and you will probably get a blank stare.  Students in China would most likely not be able to provide an answer either.  But wait, isn't Labor Day a public holiday in many countries around the world?  Yes, but when in Mexico you need to rephrase the question and instead ask, "When is May Day?"; which is kind of like asking, "When is cinco de mayo?".  In most countries the celebration of workers and that of spring coincide on May 1.  

So, why does the United States celebrate its workers and the end of summer the first weekend in September?  Yep, you guessed it!  To add a federal holiday to fill that long gap in between Independence Day and Thanksgiving!  The first Labor Day was back in 1882 and became a federal holiday in 1894.  A particular generation in the US is probably wondering why we are back in school at this point anyway, right?  Back in the day summer vacation across the nation was traditionally from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  But did you know that there was a time in the early 1800's when schools in the US started to form that there was no summer vacation!  What?!  Read more about the past and present of the first day of school at:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/04/living/school-start-dates-august-parents-feat/