Labor Day (Labor Day)

emblem of one of the largest trade unions in Serbia - "Independence"On May 1, 1886, socialist and communist organizations in the United States and Canada staged a series of rallies and demonstrations. Six demonstrators were killed in a demonstration in Chicago. In the ensuing mass protests against police brutality, eight police officers were killed in a bomb attack. On charges of organizing the explosion, four workers were sentenced to death.

In memory of those executed, the Paris Congress of the Second International (1889) declared May 1 as the Day of International Workers’ Solidarity. Today, the holiday is celebrated in 142 countries and territories around the world on May 1 or the first Monday in May. In some countries, Labor Day is celebrated at different times, including the United States and Japan. More than 80 countries (including India) Labor Day is not celebrated.

The most widespread holiday over time was in the countries of the socialist camp, and Yugoslavia (later Serbia) was no exception although today, of course, as in many other countries, the original meaning of the holiday is lost. However, the first demonstrations in the territory of the future Yugoslavia took place in 1890: in Zagreb, Novi Sad and Ljubljana. The first demonstration took place in Belgrade in 1893. In 1911, 14 thousand people took part in May Day demonstrations in 40 cities of Serbia, in 1912 - already 15 thousand, of which 10 thousand - in Belgrade.