International Worker’s Day or Labor Day is a day recognized and in a certain way celebrated in many countries throughout the world. In North America, this day is celebrated in September, while in other parts of the world it is celebrated on the 1st of May. This day commemorates the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, when the workers were on strike demanding an 8-hour long workday. During the protest, the police tried to disperse the gathered people, when the bomb was dropped and four people were killed.
In 1889 it was decided that the 1st of May is the holiday of all the workers and the working class. During the existence of SFRY (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), the 1st of May was celebrated as the national holiday. Nowadays, people in Serbia still get a day off work or school, together with the 2nd of May, even though it is no longer a national holiday.
Since on the 1st and the 2nd of May most people are free from work, it is common for the celebration to take place for at least two days, sometimes even longer if the holiday is connected with the weekend. Due to the warm weather at this time of year, it is usual to celebrate this holiday somewhere out in the open – in the forest, in the countryside, in summerhouses or at least in parks. Many people go camping for several days, while the others spend at least one whole day somewhere in nature, leaving the streets of the large cities strangely empty.
No matter if people spend one, two or more days celebrating, it is a holiday for friends and families to get together, enjoy nature and have fun. Everyone brings some food and drink and there is almost always a barbecue. With plenty of grilled meat, alcohol, music and fun, people in Serbia often joke how Worker’s Day is celebrated by not working and not doing anything.
