The history of Labour Day

Got this while googling

Labor Day is a special holiday set aside to honor workers and the contributions that they make to their jobs and to society.

The History of Labor Day

There is some doubt and confusion as to when or by whom Labor Day was started. Here are some points of importance to how Labor Day Started.

April 15, 1872 - Toronto Trades Assembly (TTA) (possibly the original labour body in Canada) organized the first North American "workingman's demonstration". Some 10,000 Torontonians turned out to watch a parade and to listen to speeches calling for abolition of the law which decreed that "trade unions were criminal conspiracies in restraint of trade".

September 3, 1872 - Members of seven unions in Ottawa Canada organized a parade that stretched for more than a mile long. The parade stopped at the home of Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald. They brought him into a carriage and marched to the Ottawa City Hall by torch light. The Prime Minister was aware of the discontent of workers with the laws which made unions illegal so he made this declaration that his party would "Sweep away all such barbarous laws from the statute books". These laws were repealed by Parliament later that year and the tradition of holding parades and demonstrations was continued on into the early 1880's.

July 22, 1882 - The Toronto Trades and Labour Council (the successor to the TTA) organized the annual demonstration and parade. Peter J. McGuire of New York was invited to attend and speak at this occasion.

1882 - Matthew Maguire, later secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J. proposed a Holiday for Labor while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York.

1882 - Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor suggested a day to honor workers.
September 5, 1882 - The Central Labor Union held its first Labor Day holiday in New York City. A second Labor Day was again held a year later on September 5, 1883.

1884 - The first Monday in September was selected as the holiday and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to also celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date.

February 21, 1887 - Oregon passed the first bill to become law making Labor Day an official holiday.

June 28, 1894 - The U.S.A. Congress passed an act making the first Monday of September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories including all Federal workers in all states. The individual States still had to enact their own legislation which 31 States had done already by this time.

July 23, 1894 - The Canadian Government enacted legislation making Labour Day, the first Monday of September of each year into a national holiday.
Regardless of who, where or when Labour Day was started, it is now an important holiday which is now celebrated in many different countries.

Even though Labour Day was born through the activities of the trade unions, which are still holding demonstrations and picnics on Labour Day, this is a holiday to be celebrated by ALL who labour and who's efforts and skills at so many different jobs to give us the materials to fulfill all of our wants and necessities in society.

Bottomline is......it'a a Public Holiday which means tak payah kogheja!!!!!

Vacation @ Kuantan - The vacation is over

I hate it when my vacation is over. After weeks of planning and now it's finally over...Over and done...Brapa banyak punyer over dah!!!

We left right after breakfast. We wanted to beat the traffic, it's the end of school holidays and if we left later, we may be stuck in horrible traffic.

I told the cuties to really eat, we plan not to make any stops on the way back. The next meal will be at BSP.

Good bye Swiss Garden, we shall meet again.....

And another vacation........finally ended!

Vacation @ Kuantan - Fun Day Under The Sun, literally

After breakfast, we made our way to the beach to participate in the telematch games. The cuties love this part of all the retreats they have been to, collecting as much presents as they can by again, demonstrating the high level of kiasuness, participating in all the games offered. What can I do, they just love to be part of activities...

Started with warming up session, POCO2 time!!! Led by the Guru of Poco2, Azrul aka Sobri, this was really. Our whole family were doing this and loving it. Despite the hot weather, we still had fun. Bak kata Andy, "biasa2 kan lah yer, neraka lagik panas yer...ZASS!!!!!!!!

Let the games begin. My better half took part in the games so did the cuties. I only joined one game. Saja nak bagi can kat orang lain...sebenarnyer nak cover perangai malas! When we saw there will be the game of tug of war, we decided to leave the area, based on our experience, after the game of tug of war, body aching all over shall follow. Tak sanggup!!!

I was waiting for the call from vagg, our pengantin baru, who plan to come to Kuantan with the delicious nasi dagang. I did not take any pictures, so, refer to this and this for the details. Vagg was quiet, not kecoh like me and K Red, maybe the aura malu2 pengantin is still in tact kot. But, the seri pengantin was really obvious. Thanks vagg for willing to drop by and visit us. And the nasi dagang was to die for!

And more activities to come! Look out yer!

Vacation @ Kuantan - The first day

First and foremost, thank you so much for all the kind wishes and salam takziah. Alhamdulilah, everything has been settled and all the necessary were completed.

I bumped into K Red a couple of days ago and she said to me "Woi, orang lain dah sampai merata, ko nie still kat Kelantan". Sorry to all, really wanted to do some updates, but work has been very taxing to me, and my princess was not well this couple of days. I will utilise this weekend to do as much as updates as I can. Though the stories may be dah basi, but this is my personal blog and the main reason is to jot down memories with my family so I will do just that.

Now, back to the Kuantan story. We were at Kuantan for one reason and one reason only....To participate in my company's Family Retreat. We really look forward to this event especially this event was organised by many of my good friends and I know, literally know, how much effort they have actually put in to organise this event. Try and be part of the committee and you know the sweat and tears that went into making an event a success. Jangan asik dok nak komplen sana sini, cakap pandai ler yer, buat tak reti. Dah ler free... Remember, this people is organising a company event, not your personal vacantion. Emo ler pulak kan! But, seriously, show some appreciation to thise great people.

I have promised the cuties a swim at the pool once we arrived. They have condoned my shopping trips, the least I can do is to bring them to the pool kan?

Anyway, first night of the event was not that hype. I guess, people were still tired due to the travelling and just want to have their dinner and crash on their bed. Nevertheless, it was a nice and peaceful dinner with family and friends.

There were games for the kids and of course the cuties, inheriting the kiasu behaviour from yours truly, they participated in all the games offered. Nak buek camno yer...

The dinner ended early, thank God. The cuties dozed off immediately and me and my better half took the opportunities to have some quiet time alone. We spent time talking, catching up ver coffee...

And tomorrow, more activities......equal MORE FUN!!!

Vacation @ KB - Making our way to Kuantan

It's the end of our wonderful vacation in KB but not the end of the vacation all together. We continued the second episode of our vacation in Kuantan.

We checked out right after breakfast as we know the journey would be a long journey to Kuantan. We also thought to make some stops namely the Kemaman Kopitiam and of course to enjoy the delicious keropok lekor. Furthermore, it's a Friday and the 2 men in my life would have to make the compulsory stop for the prayers. The musafir clause did not apply here, macam ler takde masjid on the way to our destination.

Usually, my better half does not permit eating in the car but he gave this trip an exception simply because to get the cuties to sit down quietly without them trying to be too creative.

We did not stop at KT for the keropok lekor. We arrived there when the Friday prayers about to start and once the prayers were completed, many of the shops were still not open yet. We can't afford to wait further since we don't want to reach Kuantan too late.

Takde rezeki, Kemaman Kopitiam was close. We forgot, most of the shops in Terengganu closed on Fridays and Kemaman Kopitiam was not an exception.

We made the first stop and was starving. We dropped by Kemaman for the delicious keropok lekor accompanied by the air kelapa. It was really a good meal, hot and crispy keropok lekor after hours in the car.

We reached Kuantan, particularly Swiss Garden Resort around 4pm. I was exhausted, my better half took his nap while I was obligated to take the cuties to the pool. Where did they get all this energy!!

Why were we in Kuantan? You will know in the next entry.

Vacation @ KB What's the damage

No words, just to show some of the things I bought during the vacation at Kota Bahru. Why I say some...cause most of the other things malas nak upload and tunjuk. Actually malu to admit, I overspent.

So, no shopping for the next 6 months...yelah tu...You wish!

Vacation @ KB - Pasar Siti Khadijah

What could be more interesting than shopping?

Especially when you are not the one paying for it.


I wanted to get some kain for myself, my 2 lovely daughters, my mom and mom-in law and Pasar Siti Khadijah would be the best place to do this.



Our hotel is very near to the venue so we just parked at our hotel and walked to Pasar Siti Khadijah.


Pasar Siti Khadijah is a place where you can get almost everything you can get from Kelantan. There's a floor for all type of kain ela, clothing and other types of accessories. There's another floor selling food like serunding, keropok and many many kuih kelantan. I love this place cause we can buy stuff and we can bargain. Honestly, my better half is very good at this. If it's me doing the buying, I would just pay whatever the price is if I really like the thing.


Again, will show what was bought in the other entry. For now, let's just say, my better half passed another remarks after looking at the kain ela bought..."nie berapa tahun punyer raya nie?"


I just love shopping!!

Vacation @ KB - Cik Minah Songket & Batik

After lunch, we went back to the hotel for Zuhur prayers and thought to only go out again after Asar prayer. And we made plans to bring the cuties to this songket and batik place so that they can experience watching people making this 2 traditional costume. I felt it's important for them to be educated with our heritage so they can learn to appreciate it.

We did not stay there for long. There were songket making machines but not songket making people. So, just get to show the cuties the machines without people operating them.

The people there were not that friendly either. We were left walking around without anyone asking us how they can help us and offer some services to us.

My better half told me, let's go to Pasar Siti Khadijah and see what they have there...

Like I will say no to shopping! Duh!!!

I just have to continue this story - Pengkalan Kubor is a shopping heaven

This entry is still related to this previous entry.

It's been a very busy week. I don't get the chance to update any entries in my blog and I do apologise for not being able to visit any of your blogs. So sorry, will try to manage my time better next time. With this new job scope, I am really occupied and this may surprise you, I am having fun at the same time. Finally, being able to do something that I am so passionate on.

So, Thursday morning @ KB started very early. After breakfast at the hotel, we went straight to the border of Kelantan and Thai, this place called Pengkalan Kubur. I have declared this place as one of my favourite shopping spots. Before we start our journey, it won't hurt to ask for directions rather than keep on driving on and on and on without having to reach our destination. Itupun after so much argument. What is it men with asking directions?

You can get many stuff here at a very cheap price. Pinggan mangkuk segala bagai, clothes, cuttleries...you name it, you got it.

I did buy some stuff. Oklah, not some lah, a lot. Will update what was bought during this whole trip to Kota Bharu in another entry. Safe to say, I was literally dragged out of Pengkalan Kubor by my better half.....

Few last words, I am so coming back here.

Dinner @ KB

Continuation from this previous entry.

We did not go out to any where during this first nite @ KB. We were still exhausted after the long hours in the car. Dinner was only within walking distance from the hotel.

We came across this Medan Selera Buluh Kubu, about 10 minutes walk from the hotel. There were 2 types of stalls there ; one type was for dine in and the other type was like the pasar malam style where you can tapau the food.

A lot of Kelantan traditional food sold here. From nasi kerabu, to nasi dagang, ayam ikan and segala percik, nasi kukus, nasi air and many many kuih were sold as well.

We chose to eat in instead of tapau. Malas lak nak pikir how to eat in the hotel room without the cuttleries.

My better half with nasi goreng biasa and telur mata while the cuties shared one nasi goreng pattaya, they said they were still full after the snack in the room.

And I had only sup tulang, holiday2 gak, but diet jangan dilupa.

And my better half also tapaued some Kelantan dessert.

That nite I was busy planning for the next day activities....and shopping will be the utmost priority!

Vacation @ KB - The journey

We are on vacation. The destination - KOTA BAHRU, KELANTAN

Why Kota Baru? Well, why not Kota Bahru...

Actually the main reason is for me to fulfill my better half and the cuties travelling around Malaysia plan complete. So far, we are missing Sabah, Kelantan and Perlis. So, since there will be another event at Kuantan later this week, we thought Kelantan would be a better choice for this round of vacation.

We started our journey quite early, right after Subuh prayer. Actually, when I woke up at 6am, the moment I opened my bedroom doors, the cuties were all ready bathed and dressed for the trip. Gosh, they must be very excited to go on a holiday. Oklah, I wanted to do shopping as well lah!

This was the cuties 25 minutes after we started our journey.

And this was the cuties an hour after the journey started.

We stopped for breakfast at Bentong. We were lucky, it was a good choice. Roti canai sedap, nasi lemak terangkat.

I was nervous actually. Dah ler such long drive, there were lori balak everywhere. Balak2 besaq gedabak ler tu. Which make me gain so much respect to those whose hometown is so far away and have to endure this travelling. My sincere admiration to all of you!

Then another stop, lunch at Kuala Krai. This time, we're left with dissapointment plus a not so full stomach.

At last we reached our destination at 4.30pm.

We decided to lepak first in the hotel room and ordered some snack from room service.

Next plan, jalan2 around the hotel area after maghrib.

We are on vacation!!!

Yup, by the time you are reading this we are already at the state of Cik Siti Wan Kembang. We will drop by Kuala Terengganu on the way to Kuantan for the company family retreat.

We will be back on Sunday and we know Monday will be a normal schooling days for the cuties and working day for me and my better half.

So, I must make sure the necessary chores have been completed.

So, I have ironed the cuties school uniforms for the whole week.

I have cleaned the house, did all the laundry and folded all the clothes. The last thing you want to see after a great holiday is a messy house.



The cuties did their part as well. They have cleaned their rooms and toilets, did their homework and have arranged their books for Monday's time table.



All packed and ready to go!! See ya!

Fun Time @ Kuantan

Last weekend, we made a trip to Kuantan, mostly about work rather than pleasure, at least to me. I was not really looking forward to this trip. I prefer to spend time at home actually, especially when I conciously knew this trip is mostly a working visit.

We left BSP at 9.30am, decided to have breakfast at BSP as we don't really like to stop during our journey.

The traffic was smooth, alhamdulilah.

We arrived at Kuantan around 12.30pm, thought to ronda2 the city first. Remembered I read in chotz's blog about this rojak in Kuantan. So, apa lagik, I kacau ler K Red to get ak's phone number since ak still studies there. Too bad, the rojak stall only opens later in the evening. Takde rezeki nampaknyer, anyway, thanks ak for the info and so sorry to disturb your fun time in the lab...fun ke? hehehe........

We ended up just hanging out at the field next to the Masjid Negeri which by the way is so beautiful and gorgeous!!!! My better half quick took out his camcorder and start recording the cuties.

Before we check into the hotel, we stop by this stall for lunch. The ambiance was very peaceful and great. Imagine having your meal at the beach side. Simply amazing.

The food was not too bad. I had nasi minyak with kari daging and sambal belacan.

And this fresh air kelapa muda was like the icing on top of the cake. So sedap and pure, no ice no sugar!! And the flesh was simply delicious...

We finally checked into the hotel at 3.30pm...And work continues!!!