Why is May Day Celebrated?

May Day Celebration: International Labour Day or May Day is celebrated to finish the struggle as well as to promote the requirement of eight-hour work day. Earlier the working condition of the laborer was very severe and working hours was 10 to 16 hour a day even in the unsafe conditions. Deaths, injuries and other dreadful conditions of the workers were very common at the workplace during the 1860’s and working people were very agitated throughout the workday until the 8-hour workday was declared.

May Day Celebration:

The rising death of the working class people (men, women and children) in many working industries, required to raise the voice for the safety of the working group people by decreasing their working hours in the industries. After the lots of efforts made by the workers and socialists, eight-hours was declared as the legal time for the workers in the national convention at Chicago in 1884 by the American Federation of Labor.

Many people have sacrificed their lives during the Haymarket Massacre which was held in the Chicago during the strike of workers. May Day is celebrated to commemorate the event of Haymarket Massacre as well as to promote the social and economic achievements of the working group people.

Origin of May Day in India:

May Day is also known as Workers’ Day or International Workers’ Day. May Day has different origin stories in different countries. However, the common theme in all countries is the labour class taking a stand against the exploitation they were subjected to.

In India, the first May Day was celebrated in Madras (now known as Chennai) by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923. It was also the first time when the Red Flag which symbolizes Labour Day was used in India for the first time.

The day is linked to labour movements for communist and socialist political parties. In Hindi, Labour Day is also known as Kamgar Din or Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas, Kamgar Divas in Marathi and Uzhaipalar Naal in Tamil.

May 1 is also Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day – on this day in 1960 the two states attained statehood after Bombay (Now Mumbai) had been divided on linguistic lines.

During the era of industrialization, US industrialists exploited the working class by making them work 15 hours a day. It was only on May 1, 1886, that the labour class came together and revolted against this unjust system and asked for paid leaves, good wages and proper breaks. This is the reason why May Day is celebrated every year.