This past Monday we celebrated Labor Day, or did we? The first Monday in September has long been a holiday, so many folks get a day off work. But why? Do any of us spend any time on that Monday remembering the blood, sweat and tears that went into a huge part of what makes our country great? Do we know who got us here? Why do we celebrate a day known as Labor Day?

Do you do anything to commemorate the day?

I confess that for me, as a kid Labor Day had two associated events. First, it was a day my father always got go from work, since he was a federal civil servant. My mother worked retail, so as I grew older, there can a time when she didn't always have Labor Day off. Second, Labor Day was always the day before school started, so I spent much of that Monday making sure I had all my school supplies in order, doublechecking that my new school outfit was all set, and seeing that I either had lunch money where I wouldn't forget it or I had a lunch packed and ready to go in a brown paper sack.

Yes, we'd "celebrate" Labor Day with a cookout, joining with my Aunt Ruby, Uncle Punk, and cousins Donnie and Ricky for burgers or hot dogs. Or we'd take one last opportunity to spend time at the beach and then cooking crabs or fish we caught for a different kind of cookout.

But I do not recall much, if any, conversation about exactly what Labor Day meant.

And today is even worse. For most the day no longer marks the end of summer and the start of school. For my grandkids, school in Aiken County started in July, so Labor Day is more like the first holiday in the new school year.

I suspect today most kids have no idea why we get a day off. Despite this federally designated holiday, you can shop, you can pick up groceries, you can buy gas, you can get a prescription filled, you can eat out.

So again, do we know why we get to enjoy this day off work and out of school?

I decided it was time I learned more than the vague notion I currently have that Labor Day somehow celebrates the workers of the world and maybe unions.

What I found was that beginning in the 19th century, as factories became a more prevalent means of employment, and as trade unions and labor movements grew in the name of better working conditions, a variety of organizations decided to celebrate labor on a variety of days. Ultimately one of two men has been credited with proposing an official day on which to celebrate workers. One story says Matthew Maguire, a member of the Central Labor Union proposed the first Monday of September be set aside to celebrate labor following an 1882 convention of the Knights of Labor in which a parade was held on Sept. 5. He proposed a parade to show solidarity and said the timing was ideal, since it was midway between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving.

Another version of the history of Labor Day says Peter J. McGuire, vice president of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, saw such labor celebrations in Canada, held in May. He thought America should have such a celebration, but in September for the same reasons attributed to Matthew Maguire.

By 1887 the celebrations had caught on. Oregon was the first state to officially designate a Labor Day holiday followed by 29 more states by 1894. And the same year Pres. Grover Cleveland made it a national holiday (for federal employees).

Since then the holiday marks the "unofficial end of summer." A number of events go along with that. Virginia has legislation that doesn't allow schools to start before Labor Day - a nod to tourism. Minnesota's state fair ends on Labor Day. Here in S.C., the Southern 500 takes place Labor Day weekend.

And it's the midpoint of the U.S. Open (tennis) - so you know where I was and will be through this Sunday. Hope your Labor Day was labor-free, and you did something you love to do.