International Workers' Day 2026

What is International Workers' Day?

International Workers' Day, on 1 May, honours the labour movement and the struggle for workers' rights, above all the eight-hour working day. In most of Europe it is a public holiday under names such as Labour Day, Festa dei Lavoratori, Tag der Arbeit or Fête du Travail. Trade unions and left-wing parties traditionally organise marches and rallies, and in several countries the day has a long history as a demonstration of political strength.

May Day has older roots in the spring festivals of northern and central Europe, with maypoles, dancing and the arrival of warm weather. The two traditions sit side by side in Finland, where Vappu is both a workers' day and a lively student carnival, and in Germany, where the night before is Walpurgis Night. In Italy the day is known for a very large free concert in Rome, and in France people give each other sprigs of lily of the valley.

Why it is observed

The modern date goes back to the United States in the 1880s. On 1 May 1886 workers across the country struck for the eight-hour day, and in Chicago a protest at Haymarket Square on 4 May ended in a bomb explosion and police gunfire, followed by controversial trials and executions. In 1889 the founding congress of the Second International in Paris called for international demonstrations on 1 May 1890, linking them to the eight-hour demand. The day spread across Europe and became an official holiday in many countries during the twentieth century, including the Soviet Union and other socialist states.

How the date is set

International Workers' Day is fixed on 1 May. It is called Labour Day or May Day in many countries, although those names are used elsewhere for other dates, such as the first Monday of September in the United States and Canada or the first Monday of May in the United Kingdom.

How it is observed

On 1 May banks, offices, schools and most shops are closed in much of Europe, and public transport runs a holiday timetable, although tourist areas often stay open. Large cities may see marches that affect traffic. Not every country observes it on the date: in the United Kingdom and Ireland the May bank holiday is the first Monday of May (3 May in 2027), the Netherlands has no holiday, and in Denmark it is not an official public holiday. The United States and Canada do not observe 1 May at all. In Poland, where 3 May is also a holiday, the two days are often combined into a long weekend. Pay and the effect on working time depend on the country, the sector and the contract.

Sources

• Wikipedia: International Workers' Day
• Wikipedia: Haymarket affair
• python-holidays 0.106 country data (site dataset)