What's Labor Day In The USA? - American holidays and culture

9,170 views ・ 2015-08-31

Business English with Christina


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Next Monday will be the first Monday in September, and it’s a big holiday in the US.
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Do you know which one?
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Here’s a hint:
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well,
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it's the title of this video but also It’s related to the holiday that the rest of the world, including France,
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celebrates on May 1st.
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You guessed it!
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It’s Labor Day: and it's a day to honor workers by letting them have
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a day off
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from work.
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I’m Christina and you’re watching Speak Better, Feel Great TV
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The place to boost your English, and boost your career.
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Today, you’ll learn how the American Labor Day is a lot different from the French Fête du Travail
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and you vocabulary for talking about working conditions.
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You ready?
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When you think of the French La Fête du Travail in France, you probably think of this
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But when Americans think of Labor Day, they probably think of this
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or
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this
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For Americans, Labor Day means a lot of things
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the end of summer, the beginning of football season, Labor Day sales,
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and if they’re lucky,
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a day off from work.
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A lot of businesses are open on Labor Day.
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And big demonstrations like the ones you see in France,
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they
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don’t really happen in the US.
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Many cities prefer to organize a festive Labor Day Parade
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instead.
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At the parades, there are lots of American flags,
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marching bands,
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community associations, and workers showing that they are proud of their work.
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Remember, in American society, hard work is a key value.
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And Labor Day is the day to celebrate hard work and pride in your country.
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It’s a day of
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celebrations,
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not protests.
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Personally, we never really did anything special for Labor Day. Maybe a family barbecue.
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And it was a day off from school, which was always really exciting,
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because we started school at the beginning of August!
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way too early.
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Here’s a surprising fact about Labor Day.
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The International Workers’ Day on May 1st that the rest of the world celebrates.
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actually originated in the US.
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ya really.
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So why don’t Americans have Labor Day on May 1st?
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It’s complicated.
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If you’re interested in the full story, I’ve put a link to an article in the notes below this video.
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In a nutshell, there were lots of violent strikes and deaths in May of 1886,
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and the government
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didn’t want the people to remember that.
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OK, but why is American Labor Day in September?
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That was the result of other violent labor strikes in 1894.
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And this is why we don’t really strike in the US.
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It often ends in violence or
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being fired.
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After many deaths, the American government decided to create Labor Day.
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They wanted to calm the workers.
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But the government didn’t want a holiday associated with the radical events
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of May.
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So, for several different reasons,
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they chose the first Monday in September for the American Labor day.
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Psss!
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You’ll really impress your American colleagues if you know why American Labor Day is in September.
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Not many Americans know that story!
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For the majority of Americans, Labor Day is about parades,
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barbecues, and just relaxing.
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However,
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40% of Americans have the ironic pleasure of celebrating Labor Day
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by working.
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So Labor Day in the US is not really the equivalent of La Fête du Travail in France.
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But now you know a little more about the American relationship to work
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and why you’re American colleague will be absent
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or not
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next Monday.
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Before you go,
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tell us!
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Share your opinion, right there,
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in the comments below.
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It’s the best place to practice your English and ask your questions!
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Did you learn something from this video?
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Then subscribe to my YouTube channel right now.
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Or better yet,
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go to
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and sign up for the newsletter,
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You'll get exclusive resources and tools to help you improve your English everyday.
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I’m Christina from Speak Better, Feel Great TV.
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See you next time.
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