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May Day or Labour Day is celebrated every year on 1 May to honor and appreciate the great work done by workers or labour class. The eight-hour day movement, which promoted a schedule of eight hours for labour, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest, is the main reason behind the start of Labour Day.
The Labour Day is also known as Worker's Day in some countries. This day is devoted to the working class and promotes awareness of their rights among them.
The purpose of celebrating Labour Day is to honour the enormous amount of effort put in by the working class, to inform them of their rights, and to safeguard them against exploitation.
This year the Labour Day will be celebrated on Monday, 1 May 2023.
The concept of Labour Day dates back to the to the United States of America in the 19th Century. To honour the 1886 countrywide strike for an eight-hour day, which started 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 given to the tragic event in which a labour protest gathering descended into violence after a bomb was thrown at the police, killing seven 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. In India, 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).
The Labour Day is celebrated in India to honor and encourage the achievements of workers.
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