赶集网登封信息招聘网:作为国际工人节的五·一

May Day as International Workers' Day 

与五月一日相联的有两个节日，一个是我们熟知的国际劳动节，一个是西北欧日耳曼语系国家传统的五月节，此篇讲劳动节。

尽管年年放假，感觉上好像对五一节很熟悉，但是我们对这个日子的真正含义其实知之甚少。多少人知道这是为了纪念争取八小时工作日的芝加哥大罢工而设立？多少人意识到八小时工作日代表着工人的休息权？多少人意识到这个日子是工人运动的标志？多少人有机会了解，自十九世纪末，世界各国的社会主义者、共产主义者、工会主义者、无政府主义者，为了维护工人阶级的权益，始终不懈地进行着抗争，而这抗争，在今天依然在持续。如果欧美的工人们有较好的工作条件，那是他们在工会的组织下，通过一次次罢工争取而来，并且经常付以血的代价。

International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements.  It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world.  May 1st is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and also celebrated unofficially in many other countries.

International Workers' Day is the commemoration(纪念) of the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, when, after an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they dispersed a public meeting, Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour workday, killing several demonstrators and resulting in the deaths of several police officers, largely from friendly fire. 

In 1889, the first congress of the Second International (第二国际), meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests.  May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.

Subsequently, the May Day Riots of 1894 occured.  In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace."  The congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1, wherever it is possible without injury to the workers."

In many countries, the working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday, and their efforts largely succeeded. May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist and anarchist groups.  In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually at dawn.  May Day has been an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic of China, Cuba and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.

In the United States and Canada, however, the official holiday for workers is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, who organized the first parade in New York City.  After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, US President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.

In 1955, the Roman Catholic Church dedicated May 1 to "Saint Joseph The Worker".  The Catholic Church considers Saint Joseph the patron saint of (among others) workers, craftsmen, immigrants and "people fighting communism".

Right-wing governments have traditionally sought to repress the message behind International Workers' Day, with fascist governments in Portugal, Italy, Germany and Spain abolishing the workers' holiday, and the Conservative party in the UK currently attempting to abolish the UK's annual May Day Bank Holiday.

每年的五一节，是世界各国的工会和左翼团体组织游行示威的日子，象征着劳动者团结的力量，宣告劳动者的尊严和权利不容践踏。

瑞典，斯德哥尔摩，2008.

日本，东京，1978 (?葛大为).

以色列，纳匝瑞斯(Nazareth)，2005. 

法国，马赛，2010.

意大利，罗马，2007. 

印度，孟买，2004.

想看《卫报》报道的读者，请点击这里。 

想了解伦敦五一活动历史的读者，请点击这里。

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