September... fall season kickoff

Summer isn't over but 'Glad arbetsdag' - Happy Labor Day weekend to one and all! 

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  • Labor Day, marking the traditional end of summer. The traditional dress code and rule is “Don’t wear white after Labor Day” - a rule far from applicable in today's contemporary world and far from practical during pleasantly warm Septembers. Besides, these days climate doesn’t control color or fashion. Then again, a southern lady - and a wonderful person with a true sense of style - at one point referred to an old folklore refrain that says "Southern girls know bad manners when they see them," and a clear sign of bad manners is wearing white shoes before Easter or after Labor Day.

  • A powerful photo from the Stockholm outer archipelago by photographer Sören Colbing/Nordic Reach.
  • Whether you'll follow Miss Manners's etiquette dictums or not, Labor Day is a Holiday and a traditional cause for celebration in all of the U.S.. These days we take it for granted and few are even aware of its origins. For this, we turned to Wikipedia:

  • The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City. It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike. Here's why our U.S. Labor Day has a lot to do with the international celebration on May 1

  • The September date was chosen as Cleveland was concerned that aligning an American labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair. All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday, this year celebrated on September 3.

  • Fall is, however, still some time away: The Autumnal Equinox - the seasonal change when the Sun crosses the celestial equator brings autumn not until September 22, 2018 at 9:54 P.M EDT.