How much do you know about the origin and development of May Day?
May 1st, International Labor Day, is abbreviated as May 1st, which falls on May 1st every year. So, how much do you know about the origin and development of May Day? There are 30 days in the fourth lunar month of 2020. Shuimoxiansheng.com’s special topic on the fourth lunar month of 2020 will analyze for you the relevant matters every day from April 1st to April 30th!The Origin of May DayThis festival originated from the workers' strike in Chicago, USA.——On May 1, 1886, more than 200,000 workers in Chicago went on strike to fight for the eight-hour work day. After an arduous and bloody struggle, they finally won. To commemorate this workers' movement, on July 14, 1889, the Socialist Congress convened by Marxists from various countries was grandly opened in Paris, France. At the conference, the delegates unanimously agreed to designate May 1 as the common holiday of the international proletariat. This resolution received a positive response from workers around the world. On May 1, 1890, the working class in Europe and the United States took to the streets, holding grand demonstrations and rallies to fight for their legitimate rights and interests. From then on, working people from all over the world hold rallies and parades to celebrate on this day. The Chinese people's celebration of Labor Day can be traced back to 1918. ——Is year, some revolutionary intellectuals sent out leaflets introducing “May Day” to the masses in Shanghai, Suzhou and other places. On May 1, 1920, workers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities took to the streets and held massive parades and rallies. After the founding of new China, my country designated “May Day” as legal labor day in December 1949. On the eve of May Day in 1921, workers learned to sing the "May Day Memorial Song" at the Changxindian Labor Supplementary School founded by Deng Zhongxia and other members of the Beijing Communist Group. The lyrics are: "Freedom is beautiful, it is the star of the world. We will fight with our blood and sacrifice for it. We must sweep away all the power systems and remember the good day of May 1st. The red flag is flying, we are walking on the bright road, everyone does his best, everyone takes what he needs, regardless of rich or poor, noble or humble, our only responsibility is to help each other. May everyone work hard and make progress together." This majestic and powerful song was created jointly by teachers from the Changxindian Labor Practice School and progressive students from Peking University. The Development of International Labor DayThe origin of May Day can be traced back to July 14, 1889, when the Socialist Congress convened by Marxists from various countries was grandly opened in Paris, France. At this conference, French representative Lavine proposed that May 1, 1886, the day when American workers fought for an eight-hour work day, be designated as a common holiday of the international proletariat. The delegates present unanimously agreed to pass this historic resolution. From then on, "May 1" International Labor Day was born.——Why was this day designated as International Labor Day? This has to start with the American workers' movement in the 1880s. At that time, the United States and many European countries gradually developed from capitalism to the imperialist stage. In order to stimulate rapid economic development, squeeze more surplus value, and maintain this high-speed capitalist machine, capitalists continued to increase working hours and labor intensity to cruelly exploit workers. In the United States, workers work 14 to 16 hours a day, and some even work up to 18 hours a day, but their wages are very low. A supervisor at a shoe factory in Massachusetts said: "Let me put a strong and healthy 18-year-old boy working next to any machine here, and I can make his hair turn gray when he is 22 years old." The heavy class oppression aroused great anger among the proletariat. They knew that the only way to fight for the conditions of survival was to unite and fight against the capitalists through strike movements. The strike slogan raised by the workers was to demand the implementation of an eight-hour work day. In 1877, the first national strike in American history began. The working class took to the streets to march and demonstrate, demanding that the government improve working and living conditions, shorten working hours, and implement an eight-hour work system. Soon after the strike began, the ranks of the strike gradually expanded, the number of union members increased dramatically, and workers from all over the country also joined the strike movement. Under strong pressure from the workers' movement, the U.S. Congress was forced to enact the eight-hour workday law. However, the vicious capitalists simply ignored it, and the law was just a piece of paper. The workers still lived in dire straits and were tortured by the capitalists. The workers, who could no longer bear it, decided to push the struggle for the right to survive to a new climax and prepare to launch a larger-scale strike. In October 1884, eight international and national workers' groups in the United States and Canada held a rally in Chicago, USA, and decided to hold a general strike on May 1, 1886 to force capitalists to implement an eight-hour work day. This day has finally arrived. On May 1, 350,000 workers from more than 20,000 companies in the United States stopped working and took to the streets for a massive demonstration. Workers of all skin colors and all trades went on a general strike. In Chicago alone, 45,000 workers took to the streets. Now, the main industrial sectors in the United States were paralyzed, trains became stiff, shops were silent, and all warehouses were closed and sealed. At that time, there was a popular "Eight Hour Song" among the striking workers. The song goes: "We want to change the world. We are tired of working in vain, getting only enough wages to make a living, and never having time to think. We want to smell the flowers, we want to bask in the sun, and we believe that God only allows an eight-hour workday. We have gathered our team from the docks, workshops and factories, striving for eight hours of work, eight hours of rest, and eight hours for ourselves!" The passionate singing expressed the voice of the workers and the common aspirations of the proletariat all over the world. It also inspired the masses, who expressed their support for the workers' strike movement and pushed it to a new climax. The tremendous power demonstrated by the strike movement caused great panic among the government authorities and capitalists. They were unwilling to agree to the workers' demands and thus revealed their ugly side. On May 3, the Chicago government authorities finally tore off the mask of "democracy" and violently suppressed the workers. They organized strike breakers to infiltrate the workers' striking team under the protection of the police, deliberately creating chaos, and used this as an excuse to shoot and kill six workers on the spot. This atrocity aroused great indignation among workers throughout the city, and they were determined to avenge their dead worker brothers! In order to commemorate the strike movement of American workers on May 11, 1886 and to boost the fighting enthusiasm of the working class throughout the world, this day was designated as a common holiday of the international proletariat. On May 1st of every year thereafter, the working class of various countries held large-scale demonstrations to fight for their rights! Q: Which Labor Day is it in 2020?Answer: The 69th Chinese Labor Day and the 129th International Labor Day. |
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