Fun Facts About Labor Day + How Much We Actually Love It
Would you believe me if I said Labor Day is our third favorite holiday?
It's Labor Day Weekend folks and if you're lucky, you don't have to see the inside of a office again until Tuesday. Three day weekends are something we all crave. In fact, according to WalletHub, we love Labor Day so much, it's our third favorite holiday behind Christmas and Memorial Day. It beats out Thanksgiving and Fourth of July.
Where does it come from though?
Apparently, back in 1882 10,000 workers assembled in New York City for a day of celebration, complete with a parade. The event was organized by Matthew Maguire and Peter McGuire. The two, aside from sharing eerily similar names, were rival union leaders (one a machinist and the other a carpenter). I guess by coming together on this event it was decided that Labor Day was a good thing and this tradition officially because a federal holiday on 1894.
Despite out love for it, most than half of Americans would rather celebrate it around another religious holiday, like Easter or Passover. Nonetheless, we go hard in the Labor Day paint with travel plans galore. One-fourth of the population plans on getting out of town with 86 percent of that number traveling by car. In addition, 16.1 million people will be boarding a plane to get out of town. The most popular destinations are New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago. I've been to all of these, you're in good hands.
Bonus fact: In between Memorial Day and Labor Day (the unofficial bookends of summer), 818 hot dogs are eaten every second.