How's this for a strange idea: a day off from work in honor of work itself?
这是一个多么奇怪的想法：为了庆祝工作本身而放一天假？
Actually, that is what Labor Day, celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday of every September, is all about.
实际上，这就是劳动节的来历，在美国和加拿大人们每个九月的第一个星期一庆祝的节日。
The first American Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on September 5th, 1882,
美国的第一个劳动节是在纽约举行庆祝的，在1882年的9月5日，
as thousands of workers and their families came to Union Square for a day in the park.
成千上万的工人和他们的家人，来到联合广场的公园度过这一天。
It was not a national holiday but had been organized by a union
这其实不是一个国家法定假日，
to honor workers and their hard efforts with a rare day of rest, halfway between July 4th and Thanksgiving.
但是为了感谢工人和他们的努力拼搏，工会就把它组织成了一个难得的休息日，介于7月4日（美国的独立日）和感恩节中间。
There were picnics and a parade, but there were also protests.
届时会有野炊和游行，但是也会有抗议活动。
The workers had gathered, not just to rest and celebrate,
工人们聚集在一起不仅仅是为了放松和庆祝，
but to demand fair wages, the end of child labor, and the right to organize into unions.
而且也会要求涨薪水，不要使用童工以及组织工会的权利。
During the period known as The Industrial Revolution, many jobs were difficult, dirty and dangerous.
在工业革命期间，许多工作是非常艰难、脏并且非常危险的。
People worked for twelve hours, six days a week,
人们一天工作12小时，每周工作六天
without fringe benefits, such as vacations, health care and pensions,
却没有额外的福利，比如假期，医疗保险和津贴，
and if you were young, chances are you were doing manual labor instead of your ABCs and fractions.
如果你是年轻人，你就很有可能是在做体力活，而不是学习语言和数学。
Children as young as ten worked in some of the most hazardous places,
即便是只有十岁的孩子也在一些最危险的地方工作，
like coal mines or factories filled with boiling vats or dangerous machines.
比如煤矿，或者那些放满大热水桶的工厂里，或者是在危险的机器上。
Trying to win better pay, shorter hours and safer conditions workers had begun to form labor unions in America and Canada,
在美国和加拿大，工人们为了获得较好的薪水、较短的工作时间和较安全的工作环境，开始组建了劳工组织，
but the companies they worked for often fought hard to keep unions out and to supress strikes.
但是他们的雇主公司却经常想法设法让工会不能干涉并且抑制工人罢工。

At times, this led to violent battles between workers and business owners
有时，这就导致了工人和老板之间的暴力斗争，
with the owners often backed up by the police, or even the military.
但是老板经常是得到警察支持的，甚至是军队的支持。
In the following years, the idea of Labor Day caught on in America with official celebrations reaching 30 states.
在接下来的几年里，劳动节的庆祝开始在美国流行起来，官方庆祝的州达到了30多个。
But then came the violent Haymarket Square Riot of 1886,
但随之而来的是暴力冲突，1886年的秣市广场暴乱，
which led to the deaths of several policemen and workers in Chicago and the execution of four union leaders.
导致了芝加哥的几个警察和工人死亡，并且处死了四个工会的领导者。
After that, many labor and political groups around the world had begun to mark Haymarket Square on May 1st,
从那以后，世界上的许多工人和政治团体开始在5月1日纪念秣市广场暴乱，
which became known as International Workers' Day.
这就是后来人们所熟知的国际劳动节。
In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the law making Labor Day a federal holiday in America,
在1894年，格罗弗·克利夫兰总统签署了规定劳动节为联邦法定假日的法律议案，
only days after he had sent 12,000 soldiers to end a violent railroad strike that resulted in the death of several people.
而这就发生在他派遣12000名士兵去平息一场导致数人死亡的暴力铁路罢工。
The original September date was kept, partly to avoid the more radical associations of May 1st.
保留了原来的9月的那个日子，部分原因是为了避免人们因与5月1日关联起来，而形成更加激烈的冲突。
Canada also created its Labor Day in 1894.
加拿大也在1894年规定了它的劳动节。
But, in spite of this new holiday, it would be a long time before the changes that workers wanted became a reality.
尽管确立这个新的节假日，但是工人愿望的实现，却花了相当长的一段时间。
In 1938, during the Great Depression that left millions without jobs,
在1938年，在数百万人丢了工作的美国经济大萧条期间，
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a law calling for an eight-hour work day,
富兰克林·罗斯福总统签署了一份法律议案，呼吁每天工作八小时，
a five-day work week, and an end to child labor, some of the first federal protections for American workers.
一周工作五天以及禁止雇佣童工，这份议案成为联邦保护工人权利的先列。
As America and Canada celebrate Labor Day, most of the two countries' children enjoy a day off from school.
在美国和加拿大庆祝劳动节时，这两个国家的大多数孩子也会有一天的假期。
But it is important to remember that there was a time that everyday was a labor day for children in America and Canada,
但是请牢记，曾经有那么一段时期，对美国和加拿大的孩子来说每天都是劳动日，
and unfortunately, the same fact remains true for millions of children around the world today.
很不幸的是，对世界其他地方的数百万孩子，这样的情况到现在仍然存在。