YaClass wishes all of our hard working teachers, students and parents a well deserved and happy May Day weekend!
May Day, also called Workers' Day or International Workers' Day, is a public holiday in many major countries.
May Day in India
May Day or Labour Day has a different origin story for various countries but the most common origin is with the Labour Movement starting in the late 19th century. At that time, working conditions could be very exploitative, so many celebrate this day to honor those who took a stand against the exploitation of workers.
The first celebration of May Day in India was organised in Madras (now Chennai) by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923. At this gathering a red flag, which was becoming a popular symbol of Labour Day internationally, was first used in India.
This day is also tied to communist and socialist political parties. Labour Day was a major holiday in the former Soviet Union, and is still celebrated as a major political holiday by remaining communist countries. Labour Day is also known as 'Kamgar Din' or 'Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas' in Hindi, 'Kamgar Divas' in Marathi and 'Uzhaipalar Naal' in Tamil.
In parts of India, May 1 is also marked as 'Maharashtra Day' and 'Gujarat Day' to mark the date in 1960 when the two western states attained statehood after the then Bombay state was divided along linguistic lines.
The history behind May Day
On May 4, 1886, a bomb blast killed seven police officers and four civilians in Chicago. The blast was done as revenge against the police who had killed peaceful labour demonstrators the day before.
Eight anarchists were convicted in the conspiracy after the bombing and were sentenced to death. This attack, now known as the Haymarket Massacre, made headlines across the world because of rumors that none of the convicted 8 had actually thrown the bomb and were merely scapegoats.
Three years later, in 1889, a French socialist party chose the 1st of May as the International Workers' Day to honour the labour movement and commemorate the tragic Haymarket Massacre.