International Workers' Day Facts for Kids

This article is about International Workers' Day on 1 May, a holiday sometimes called May Day. See May Day for the traditional spring holiday. See Labour Day for other labour-related holidays.

Quick facts for kids International Workers' Day
Vienna, Austria, 2013
Official name	International Workers' Day
Also called	May Day
Celebrations	Various, depending on the country; mostly parades, marches, barbecues
Date	1 May
Next time	1 May 2026 (2026-05-01)
Frequency	Annual
Related to	May Day Labour Day

International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day or Workers' Day, is a special day to celebrate people who work. It honors the achievements of workers and the importance of the working class in society. This day is often called May Day and happens every year on May 1st.

The date May 1st was chosen by groups of people who wanted to improve workers' rights. They picked this day to remember a big event called the Haymarket affair. This event happened in Chicago on May 4, 1886. After this, many groups decided to push for better working conditions.

In 1904, a large meeting of worker organizations asked everyone to celebrate May 1st. They wanted to show support for a legal 8-hour day for workers. They also wanted to promote world peace and better conditions for all working people.

May 1st is now a public holiday in many countries around the world. It is usually known as "Labour Day" or "International Workers' Day." However, some countries, like the United States, celebrate their Labour Day on a different date. The U.S. celebrates it on the first Monday of September.

Images for kids

A May 1st rally in Bucharest in 1967.
May Day rally in Moscow, 1960.
Egyptian Communist Party flags in Tahrir Square.
May Day rally in Tunis, Tunisia.
Protest in O'Higgins Park, Santiago, on May 1, 1984.
Socialists in Union Square, New York City, on May 1, 1912.
San Jose, California, May Day March, 2006.
An Industrial Workers of the World group marching in Minneapolis on May 1, 2010.
International Workers' Day celebration in Beijing on May 1, 1952.
2011 National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo) May Day march, Tokyo.
A May Day rally in Helsinki, Finland.
May Day demonstration in Lyon, France.
May Day rally in Hanover, Germany, May 1, 2013.
Traditional May 1st Concert in St. John Lateran square, Rome.
First May Day celebration of the Ottoman period in Skopje, 1909.
Norway's former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg gives his May 1st speech in 2009 in Oslo, Norway.
1 May Coal Mine in Wodzisław Śląski, Poland.
Delegates of the Romanian Communist Party on May 1, 1965.
Russian Communist Workers' Party demonstration on May 1, 2008 in Izhevsk.
Mounted cossacks during an International Workers' Day military parade in 1937.
May Day rally in Barcelona, Spain.
Swedish Social Democratic Party at May Day demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2006.
May Day in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1970s.
Istanbul May Day clashes in 2013.
Workers marching to Taksim Square, May 1, 2012.
The Labour Day March in Brisbane, Queensland, is the largest rally in Australia.
Triumph of Labour at the Marina Beach in Chennai.
Protest march in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 1, 2007.
Israel, May 1, 2007.

International Workers' Day facts for kids

Images for kids

See also