Labor Day as the Romans do - by Vicky Leon
"In the United States, they tend to believe they achieved a kinder, gentler workplace that honors 9-to-5ers with a special day off in early September, especially when compared with the workaday world of the past. But 2,000 years ago, workers in Athens, Rome and other cities around the Mediterranean got far more recognition -- and time off -- than we do. Their calendars were crowded with occupation-specific festivals. Most of these celebrations had an essentially religious base -- either to say thanks or as appeasement. Plumbers, for instance, didn't have a "Plumbers Day." Their holiday honored their patron god -- Saturn, most likely, whose symbol was lead. Most drainpipes connecting Romans to their lavish supply of clean water were made of lead -- plumbum in Latin.
When the western half of the Roman Empire crumbled in AD 476, more was lost than good plumbing. The number of workers' holidays began to shrink. Today, the U.S. is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers any paid vacation or holidays. 9 to 5, indeed. Saturn help us, we're headed for XXIV / VII."
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