International Labour Day 2023: History, Significance, Quotes, and Facts

International Labour Day 2023 is on 1 May. Know the History, Significance, Quotes, and Facts for the day

International Labour Day 2023 details

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May Day or Labour Day is celebrated every year on 1 May with an aim to honor and appreciate the contribution of the workers, specifically the labour class. The labour day had begun with a concept that started the eight hour movement thus promoting a schedule of eight hours for labour, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

The Labour Day is also known as Worker's Day in some countries. This day is devoted to the working class and helps raise awareness about the rights of the workers among them and other people who put them on work.

The purpose of celebrating Labour Day is to honor the enormous amount of effort put in by the working class, to inform them of their rights, and to protect them against exploitation. Know the history, significance, and facts about the Labour day along with the quotes.

International Labour Day 2023: History

The first May Day celebrations took place on May 1st 1890 after its proclamation by the first international congress of socialist parties in Europe on July 14th 1889 in Paris, France, to dedicate May 1 every year as the "Workers Day of International Unity and Solidarity."

The concept of Labour Day dates back to the to the United States of America in the 19th Century that was started with an aim to honor the 1886 countrywide strike for an eight-hour day. It has begun on 1 May and culminated in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, the United States, 1st May has been designated as Labour Day. The Haymarket affair is the name of the tragic event in which a labour protest became violent after a bomb was thrown at the police which resulted in 7 deaths of police officers and at least four bystanders.

In India, the first May Day was celebrated on 1 May 1923 in Madras and it was established by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. The Labour or May Day is known by different names across different states including Kamgar Din (Hindi), Karmikara Dinacharane (Kannada), Karmika Dinotsavam (Telugu), Kamgar Divas (Marathi), Uzhaipalar Dhinam (Tamil), Thozhilaali Dinam (Malayalam), and Shromik Dibosh (Bengali).

International Labour Day 2023: Significance

The primary objective of Labour Day is to recognise the hard work and dedication of the working class and create awareness about their rights to protect them from exploitation. This day is celebrated globally is referred to as Worker's Day in some countries.

International Labour Day 2023: Quotes

1. “Nothing will work unless you do.” —Maya Angelou

2. “I learned the value of hard work by working hard.” —Margaret Mead

3. “Rest when you’re weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” —Ralph Marston

4. “Without labor nothing prospers.” —Sophocles 

5. “Life doesn’t require that we be the best, only that we try our best.” —H. Jackson Brown Jr.

6. “The supreme accomplishment is to blur the lines between work and play.” —Arnold J. Toynbee

7. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” —Babe Ruth

8. “The individual who says it is not possible should move out of the way of those doing it.” —Tricia Cunningham

9. “No human masterpiece has been created without great labor.” —Andre Gide