Labour is spelled L-a-b-o-U-r
The first Monday in September is Labour Day. This is the day set aside to honor and acknowledge hard-working people – union or otherwise. Traditionally, Labor Day was a big party that included parades and other recreational activities for workers and their families.
In the past 30 years, Labour Day has become more associated with being a day of physical and emotional relaxation. A time to stop and smell the roses, appreciate one’s family and honor all the hard work of the people with whom we spend our working days.
If you still are thinking about work this weekend, you might take a look at these 7 Ted Talks about work. That might make thinking about work less laborious.
The Day after Labour Day
We are all pretty familiar with what the day after Labour Day signifies. The school year begins on September 4th!
September also marks the beginning of autumn. For those of us schooled in this hemisphere, September is the month of new beginnings. Our psyche has been skillfully trained by twelve or more years of repeat Back To School events. Will September 4th have you feeling nostalgic for days gone by?
Labour Day Memories
Although this long weekend will mean different things to different people, for all of us it will be the last long weekend of the summer. For me, I will remember pulling and picking fruits and vegetables with my sister. We’d drink Koolaid sitting on lawn chairs in the back yard laughing and complaining about all the work. We were responsible for filling up the freezer for the winter. (those were the days when we ate nothing but organic!)
What will the last long weekend of the summer have you thinking about?
- End of the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer?
- Packing up the summer place?
- Changes in traffic patterns?
- The start of the academic year, back to school jitters and excitement?
- New clothes, new teachers and new school supplies?
- Reuniting with school chums?
- Return to routine – early to bed, early to rise?
- Packing school lunches before bed?
- Leaves changing color?
- Picking fruit, raking leaves and clearing gardens?
- Canning fruits and vegetables?
- Canadian and American Football and the World Series in baseball?
- The new fall season of TV and NetFlix shows?
Unfortunately, there will always be one very sad memory associated with early September that we can never forget – the September 11th attack on the World Trade Centre towers in New York City. I expect we will all be thinking of where we were, and who we were with, on that fateful day.
Labour Day Brings On Fall
September is one of those months of transition, with new starts, cooler evenings and lots of apples! September is a month that cannot be swept under the carpet. Summer turns into fall, everyone is back from summer vacation, businesses start to feel the seasonal ebb and flow in sales. There will also be discussions how to best deal with meeting objectives, adding new employees and company 4th quarter strategies are firmed up. For those who are looking for a new role, intent on changing careers or wanting to”in the know”, September is the month to take a good look around and shift into full gear. (Let’s connect!)
A few facts about September
- The name September comes from the old Roman word “septem”. September was the seventh month of the Roman calendar until 46 BC when the start of the new year shifted from March to January
- September is the ninth month of the Gregorian calendar and the only month with the same number of English letters in its name as the number of the month
- Every year September begins on the same day of the week as December
- No other month ends on the same day of the week as September
- The 2014 equinox – September 22 or 23 (depending on time zone) is the seasonal signpost in the Earth’s orbit around the sun
- The Harvest Moon will shine on the night of September 8-9, 2014. It happens anywhere from two weeks before to two weeks after the autumnal equinox
- The first Labour Day was originally a US legal public holiday and celebrated on September 3, 1894
- The Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were established on September 1, 1905
- Mickey Mouse made his debut on September 19th, 1928
- On September 1, 1939, World War II began in Europe when the German troops invaded Poland
- Originating in 1978, September 8th is Grandparents Day – always the first Sunday after Labour Day
- September 16th is Working Parents Day – this includes Moms that work (hard!) at home
- There are five Jewish holidays celebrated in September (or early October) Rosh Ha-Shanah (New Year); Tzom Gedaliah); Yom Kippu); Sukkot and Simhat
- My personal favorite – September 4th, National Eat an Extra Dessert Day
- September 25 is National One-Hit Wonder Day, honouring rock singers and groups that had just one hit record
What will you and yours be doing this Labour Day long weekend?
Whatever it is – have fun and enjoy these last days of summer. The next stage of your development begins on Tuesday, September 7th. To put you in the mood, here are some of the best known September Songs.
If you feel like a little dancing in your chair, Earth, Wind & Fire – September will definitely get you going. Who knows, maybe you’ll even up out of your chair. How about singing along with the chorus?
Say do you remember
dancing in September
never was a cloudy day
Say do you remember
dancing in September
golden dreams were shiny days
Ba de ya de ya de ya
~ written by Maurice White, Al McKay, and Allee Willis
