37 free and cheap things to do on the Labor Day holiday

Below is a list of free and cheap things to do you can do on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. It’s a collection of links to information found on Greater Seattle on the Cheap as well as our “mother ship”, the national Living on the cheap website. The events listed below are available options for Labor Day on Monday, September 3, 2018. If you are looking for more weekend things to do for Friday-Sunday, check out our weekly updated list of free and cheap things to do this weekend in Seattle.

What is Labor Day?

Labor Day is a federal holiday, celebrated on the first Monday in September. Government offices, banks, libraries, and many businesses are closed, while stores and entertainment venues such as movie theaters are open. Public transportation operates on holiday schedules.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City as proposed by the Central Labor Union. The day was conceived to recognize the contributions American workers make to the prosperity of the country.

Over the next decade, other states joined in to celebrate Labor Day, organizing parades, speeches by prominent labor leaders, and an amusement festival for labor workers and their families. As more states adopted the tradition, support for a national holiday grew. In 1894, Congress made Labor Day a legal holiday.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has changed over time. Today, it is a low-key holiday, primarily for rest and relaxation. It’s the last chance to celebrate summer before the autumn season begins. Labor Day activities typically include fireworks displays, picnics, barbecues, camping trips, and that all-American pastime: shopping (particularly for back-to-school). Most retailers hold Labor Day weekend sales with discounts especially for back-to-school clothes and supplies, with deals rivaling Black Friday in November after the Thanksgiving holiday.