The history of the May Day holiday

On May 1, 1886, workers in Chicago staged a mass protest demanding the abolition of child labor and the establishment of an 8-hour working day instead of the grueling 12-15 hours. Similar performances were held in other cities of the USA, for example, in New York and Detroit. The rallies were accompanied by clashes with the police.

The idea of fighting for workers’ rights has received a wide response. In 1889, the Paris Congress of the Second International decided to hold international demonstrations annually on May 1 as a sign of workers’ solidarity.

As early as 1890, May Day marches dedicated to the eight-hour working day were held in a number of countries: Germany, the USA, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

In the Russian Empire, the first unofficial May Day was held in 1891 in St. Petersburg. It was initiated by the Marxist Mikhail Brusnev. However, the holiday received official status only after the October Revolution. Then it was called the Day of the International.

Two days off on May Day were introduced in the USSR in 1928 by the decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR dated July 30. May 1 and 2 became rest days. The second day was traditionally devoted to May Day — collective nature walks.

Since 2004, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation has been amended, and on May 2 it lost the status of a day off, becoming an ordinary worker.