Member-only story
What’s So Funny About Labor Day?
Some cartoons and remininces of summer
If you’re like me, you aren’t really sure the meaning of Labor Day. I looked it up. It’s raison d’etre is to celebrate American Workers and all their contributions in making American “strong and prosperous.” The holiday was lobbied for by the labor unions in the late 18th century and became a federal holiday in 1894. It’s now more of a marker of time for Americans, a step from one season to the next, perhaps one mind-set to a new one.
Many of us think of Labor Day as the end of summer and the beginning of the school year, which could be very funny. Summer is funny, kids returning to school certainly is, particularly if you’re not a kid.
I think some people in the US still believe that you can’t wear white pants after Labor Day. Talk about funny.
For a lot of us, it’s a weekend to escape cities and kick back at the beach — in part because it’s often a very hot weekend in some parts of the US. Beaches are funny, seagulls are very funny. Bathing suits are funny, particulary with some bodies in them.
