Labor Day, for most people, simply marks the last weekend of summer, fireworks, start of the school year. Let me share a few fun facts with you…
• During the 19th century, many people, including children, worked seven days a week. The workday was 12 hours long. The workers felt they were spending too many hours and days on the job. This caused union organizers to focus on winning a shorter eight-hour workday and days off. Many politicians and business owners were actually in favor because this created free time for workers to be able to spend their wages on traveling, entertainment or dining out.
• The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City. On June 28, 1884, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
• The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families.
Have we lost the spirit of Labor Day? Today, it is no longer about trade unionists marching down the street with banners and their tools of trade. Instead, it is a confused holiday with no associated rituals. Originally, it was meant to handle the problem of long working hours and no time off. We seem to have come full circle. If you work all the time and never really take a vacation, start a new ritual that honors the original spirit of Labor Day. Give yourself the day off. Don’t go in to work. Shut off your phone, computer and other electronic devices. Then go to a barbecue and celebrate your family and friends. Life is too short and never guaranteed.
I find it an honor to work with you as you look for your piece of the American Dream. I look at my real estate career as not only a privilege but an honor and I am always here to provide the LABOR that is required to make one of your biggest life decisions possible.
Until next week…
Jill Santandrea, Broker Manager, EXIT Homestead Realty Professionals LLC, 1070 E Chestnut Ave, Vineland, NJ 08360; 856-692-EXIT; Cell: 856-362-0967; Direct: 888-856-5455; TheJillTeam.com; E-mail: [email protected]; Text JillS to 85377 for my mobile business card. Listen to Jill on 99.9FM SNJ Radio Today. Source: 2019 Buffini & Company
