Why the world still celebrates 1st May (International Labor Day)?
First May Day, i.e. the International Labor Day, is a symbol of international solidarity of workers. The history of the 1st May begins back in 1886 in the American city of Chicago, when workers pointed out the demand for 8-hour working hours. Police then made a bloody mess. Five workers were sentenced to death. In 1889, at the First Congress of the Second International in Paris, they decided to hold mass demonstrations and strikes every May 1 in memory of the workers from Chicago. The text of the decision reads: “It is necessary to organize a large international event on a certain day, and on that day at the same time in all countries and cities workers send requests to state authorities to introduce 8-hour working hours and implement the decisions of the International Congress in Paris.”
Already the first manifestations of 1890 gave this day a deeper content than 8 hours of working time. The celebration became part of the labor struggle. 1891 At the Congress of the Second International, the date of the celebration was discussed. The Germans and the English expressed the wish that the holiday be the first Sunday in May, and the revolutionary part asked for May 1, the date of the celebration. The most important resolution was passed at the Second Congress of the International in Amsterdam in 1904: imposing celebrations of May 1st. Around 500,000 people took part in Berlin, and workers in China, India, and Indonesia demonstrated for 8-hour working hours, political freedoms, and the abolition of imperialist slavery. The slogans of the workers at that time were most often “For freedom of the press”, “Against wars, for peace and brotherhood among nations”, “Against unemployment”. For 8-hour working hours “and the like. Despite persecution and reprisals, masses of workers went on strike in Italy during Mussolini’s rule. The celebrations took on an anti-fascist and anti-imperialist character with the victory over fascism in Italy and Germany.
Today, around the world, state authorities organize a symbolic celebration of May 1 every year (in open public areas and parks), usually with a free distribution of a portion of beans and slices of bread to all those present during the ceremony.

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