The First Labor Day Celebration Was in New York City
While there's a bit of contention about who invented Labor Day, the first official celebration in the U.S. undoubtedly took place in New York City. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, workers and spectators gathered in lower Manhattan to jump-start the first-ever Labor Day parade, celebrating the city's vast and diverse laborers. According to legend — and the U.S. Department of Labor — few marchers showed up at first, until a ferry from New Jersey delivered the Jewelers Union of Newark Two, a group of about 200 who also doubled as the much needed band. As the parade progressed through building-lined streets to the stopping point of Reservoir Park (now known as Bryant Park), between 10,000 and 20,000 men and women joined in, rallying countless spectators. After the parade ended, some of the more diligent workers returned to their jobs, but most continued to the postparade extravaganza at Wendel's Elm Park, where they celebrated with speeches, picnics, cigars and an abundance of beer kegs — because what says "I work hard for the money" more than a beer buzz?