International Labor Day—China
The celebration of International Labor Day, 1 May, as an annual public holiday originated in North America in the 1880s. It was adopted by the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) in China as early as the 1920s as a symbol of its willingness to bring all political groups into the fold. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, 1 May assumed much greater importance and was designated by the Chinese Communist Party as a key public holiday. In the early years of the PRC, workers enjoyed a paid day off from work and, along with party leaders, attended large-scale government-sponsored parades and other festivities in urban parks and squares throughout the country.
The celebrations included cultural activities, displays of military prowess, the carrying of banners and flags extolling the value of labor, and even mass wedding ceremonies, before climaxing with raucous fireworks displays. Recently, in a society that is more pluralistic and increasingly less dominated by the Communist Party, the focus has moved away from public ceremonies and military parades. Workers have been granted a week off from work and encouraged to travel, with the dual aims of stimulating consumer spending and developing China's tourism industry.
Further Reading
Hutchings, Graham. (2000) Modern China: A Companion to a Rising Power. London: Penguin.
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