Jennifer Baszile

Is it Labor Day or Festivus?

The two holidays are easy to confuse.

Back in the 90s, I watched my share of Seinfeld.

In the December ’97 episode entitled, The Strike, Kramer goes back to work at H&H Bagels after his 12-year strike because workers had finally achieved the pay increase he and the others had been demanding.

One day at the bagel shop, Frank Kostanza explains how a doll inspired him to create he origins of Festivus–—the alternative holiday he invented as to protest the commercialization of Christmas.

The Festivus celebration begins with the Airing of Grievances in which people sit around a table and recount the ways that they have been disappointed or offended.

Sound familiar?

Around pools, parks and backyard barbecues this Labor Dar, lots of people will complain about jobs they hate, criticize co-workers and bosses who have disappointed them, and express fear of looming cutbacks of all kinds.

That sounds like Festivus to me.

I took a visit over to the Department of Labor website to read about the history of the holiday.

According to the Labor Department:
“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Labor Day began within the union movement, not on a Monday but Tuesday September 5, 1882 in New York City. On June 28, 1894, Congress passed the act that made it a national holiday.

If you work for someone else, don’t waste beautiful day acting like Kramer or Frank from Seinfeld. Don’t bore your friends and family with your grievances. Make the change that counts and decide to get the information you need to achieve true freedom.

If you are already an entrepreneur or home-based business owner, keep your distance from the Festivus revelers you might encounter today. Don’t join the celebration by complaining about the challenges you face.

Here’s the bottom line: When you escape the world of toil, the thankless labor that makes you miserable, Festivus, like Labor Day, isn’t quite so much fun. Make this a constructive and pleasant day by getting out of the rat race and on the path to free enterprise.