Today, we celebrate Labor Day in the US. This holiday traditionally marks the end of summer with barbecues and picnics. It is a celebration of the labor that contributed to the prosperity, strength and well-being of our country and was proposed by Labor Unions.

Like many of our holidays, the celebration was honored at local levels first. New York was the first state to propose the holiday, but Oregon passed the law first. And while Unions pushed to have the holiday celebrated on Monday, in New York the first Labor Day was celebrated on a Tuesday in 1882.

Labor Day as a national holiday was approved by the Federal Government on June 28th, 1894, but originally only extended to the District of Columbia and the American Territories.

Enjoy the day off, America, but take a moment to reflect as well. We’ve come a long way.