History of Labour Day |
Before 1961, May 24 was celebrated in Jamaica as Empire Day. The day was celebrated as the birthday of Queen Victoria, who was credited with granting slaves in Jamaica and the rest of the British Empire, their freedom.
The holiday also served the purpose of reminding Jamaica of the greatness and glory of England – the Mother Country. School children were required to attend school on the morning of the holiday to participate in the flag-raising ceremonies and in the singing of ‘Rule Britannia’, the British national anthem, ‘God Save the King’ and other British patriotic songs. In 1961, the then Premier, the late Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley, National Hero, presented a Bill in Parliament which abolished Empire Day as a public holiday and substituted instead, the commemorative celebration of May 23, 1938, when Jamaicans first declared their mass intent to seek freedom from colonial oppression. This day was called Labour Day.
From then until May 23, 1971, Labour Day was mainly celebrated by the trade unions in collaboration with the political parties to which they were affiliated, in the form of public rally meetings and marches. These were done primarily in the corporate area.
The late Prime Minister’s invitation to the nation resulted in a tremendous national response and 600 projects, mainly of a beautification nature, were identified across the island.
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