Hello and welcome to my first edition of It’s Time to Celebrate! Throughout the school year, I will be reviewing the holidays of each month while sharing a few of my favorite memories from holidays I enjoy and hearing from some of my friends about the holidays that they celebrate.
But let’s begin with September!
The first holiday I obviously think of this month is Labor Day, which has never been a very happy holiday for me because throughout my childhood it has always signified the end of summer. My family usually spent this holiday at the beach, celebrating the last day left of freedom. But besides usually signaling the end of an amazing summer vacation, I don’t really know much about the actual holiday. So, I did a little research and here is what I found:
Labor Day was named a federal holiday in 1894 and always falls on the first Monday of September. It was originally popularized by labor unions at the time and was nationalized to “recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being,” according to the US Department of Labor.
As we’ve all learned in history class by now, the end of the 19th century there was a period of large economic growth in the US called the Industrial Revolution. Working conditions and workers’ rights were a big issue during this time and Labor Day was a result of the reforms during the time to try to improve the standard of living for working class people.
If I had to rate holidays by a number, I would probably say that Labor Day is a solid 5/10. It’s nice that we get a day off of school and many get a day off work, but I feel like it has been underrepresented. To me, it has always signaled the end of summer much more than a day to honor the workers of our country. While I think acknowledging the importance of workers is very important I think it’s kind of funny that to do it, everyone only gets one extra day off.
To explore some other holidays, I talked to my friend Abby Sabatino, who is Jewish. Rosh Hashanah is one of the holidays that my friend Abby celebrates. Rosh Hashanah, Abby describes, is the start of the Jewish new year which began at sunset on Friday, the 15th of September this year. She celebrates by eating dinner with her family, where they eat many different foods.
Yom Kippur is another holiday that Abby celebrates. Yom Kippur, she says, is the holiest holiday in her faith. While Abby describes that usually she would fast as many others of her faith do, she isn’t able to because she has to go to school and sports. She explains that she believes schools should have days off for her holidays, as well as ones that revolve around other faiths like Christmas for Christians. “I think it’s very unfair that schools don’t get Jewish holidays off,” she explains. “Just as people spend their holidays going to church or whatever, people go to services for Jewish holidays.”
Overall, I think September is an interesting month of holidays, and has been very informative for me. Look out for me next month where I will explore October’s great holidays!
Are there any holidays I missed this month? Or are there any next month you think I should cover? Let me know in the comments!
