International Labor Day (also known as May 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 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. It is also celebrated unofficially in many other countries.
五一国际劳动节是一个庆祝国际工人运动和左翼运动的节日。它通常纪念由世界各地劳动人民和他们的工会所组织在街头游行示威。5月1日是在80多个国家被定为假日。在很多其他国家也非正式庆祝五一节。
Origin: International Labor Day is the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago which was initially a labour unions' demonstration demanding a workday of eight hours to be accepted as a standard all over the US.
起源:国际劳动节是1886年的芝加哥干草市场大屠杀的纪念，最初是一个在芝加哥工人组织为了号召全美国每天标准工作8小时的工作时间所举行的示威。
During the late 1880s, in many parts of the world, people worked for fourteen to sixteen hours a day in factories, and earned very little money. In the United States and Canada, working people got together to try to make their workplaces better. These groups of people formed unions (团体). The union leaders asked company directors for shorter work days and higher salaries (工资), but many of them refused to accept their ideas.
在1880年代末,在世界的许多地方,人们在工厂一天工作十四到十六个小时而且只赚一点点钱。在美国和加拿大,人们聚在一起商议,试图让他们的工作场所更好。这些群体形成工会(团体)。工会领导人要求公司董事缩短工作日和更高的工资(工资),但他们中的许多人拒绝接受他们的观点。
On May 1, 1886, men and women in the United States and Canada stopped work and marched through cities and towns to try and force bosses to let them work an eight-hour day. In the city of Chicago, several people died in fights with the police. Over the next few years, people in cities around the world stopped working every May 1 to honour workers everywhere. By the early twentieth century, the first of May was a national holiday in many countries.
1886年5月1日,男人和女人在美国和加拿大罢工进行城镇游行,试图迫使老板让他们一天工作八小时。在芝加哥城市,一些人死于与警察争吵。在接下来的几年里,接下来很多年的5月1日人们用罢工来纪念死去的工人。二十世纪初,是第一次将5月1日国定为假日。
In the United States and Canada, May 1 is 
not a holiday. North Americans celebrate Labour Day on the first Monday in September. Today in the Unites States, Labour Day is mostly about having fun. People enjoy a long weekend, and often celebrate by having barbecues or picnics with friends or family. In many parts of the Unites States, Labour Day is also the last day of summer vacation, and the students return to school the next day.
在美国和加拿大,5月1日不是一个假期。北美人在9月的第一个星期一庆祝劳动节。当今美国,劳动节是为了寻找更多的乐趣。人们享受一个长周末,经常和朋友或家人一起庆祝,烤肉或野餐。在美国许多地方,劳动节通常也是暑假的最后一天,学生第二天回到学校。
International Labor Day in China: Chinese Central government called for commemoration of International Labor Day in 1948. May 1st was designated the legal holiday to celebrate International Labor Day in December, 1949 in China.
中国的劳动节：中国中央政府1948年呼吁纪念国际劳动节，1949年12月将5月1日定位法定假日。
[转自CCTV NEWS]
