Celebrating May Day Starts by Taking Workers Seriously

May 1 is an official public holiday in 66 countries, including most of Europe. Other than a couple of faith-based holidays and the start of the new year, there’s hardly a holiday that spans so many nations. With its roots in ancient agrarian celebrations of spring, the official public holiday on May 1 is International Workers Day, celebrating the extraordinary contributions of workers and the working class. In countries where it’s an official day off, and 100 other nations, it is often commemorated with marches, protests, or strikes.