Happy Labor Day to Clay Aiken and to all his fans!
Labor Day is more than just a day off from school and work. It’s a great time to think about the history of the national holiday and its importance in American history. Not only is it a day to enjoy picnics, festivals and barbecues; it’s a national dedication to the social and economic achievements of American workers.
Here are a few interesting facts about Labor Day to get you into the spirit of the holiday:
- President Grover Cleveland declared Labor Day to be the first Monday of September. Labor Day was first observed on September 5th, 1882.
- Labor Day is celebrated in Canada as well as the United States. Oregon was the first state to declare Labor Day as law.
- The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City. 10,000 workers took an unpaid holiday to march in the first Labor Day parade.
- Labor Day is the third most popular day for grilling.
- Labor Day is the official end to hot dog season?
- In Nome, Alaska, you can enjoy the annual Great Bathtub Race on Labor Day. Four contestants push bathtubs with wheels and filled with water carrying a fifth team member.
- The annual Snake River Duck Race is another spectacular event you will not want to miss. Here you will see thousands of plastic ducks arriving on the river after moving through miles of twists and turns.
- “No white after Labor Day” was the old-fashioned style rule. Today’s fashion rules now shy away from this outdated policy.
One of the traditions of Labor Day used to be the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. The star-studded variety show would last almost 24 hours. It entertained, informed and more importantly, raised funds for MDA.
Lewis was MDA national chairman from the early 1950s to 2011, and is credited with raising more than $1.6 billion over the years. He was nominated in 1977 for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the telethon and muscular dystrophy relief.
In 2003, Clay Aiken was a guest on the MDA telethon. Clay sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and received glowing comments from Jerry Lewis. Jerry announced to the audience that Clay Aiken fans donated more than $30,000 when they learned that Clay would be on the show.
The following video shows Clay’s performance and the wonderful praise he received from Jerry Lewis.
musicfan….I had to come to facebook for my CANN fix. Grrrr…must be my browser!
LOVED what Jerry Lewis said about Clay that day! I remember missing this by two seconds! I was switching channels and caught Clay waving and leaving the stage… OMG OMG OMG! I think I finally saw the link from the CH. I was soooooooooo happy!!!
What a performance!! Clay did a great job that day!
Happy Labor Day everyone. 🙂
I had no idea that the e-mails were coming a day late…how in the world did that happen?
It does make me feel a bit better tho since I wondered why the comments were so low.
I'll do what I can to get the problem fixed!!
Good, it's not just me that the e-mails are arriving a day late! I didn't want to complain or anything, but I'm glad that you're trying to fix the prob, Musicfan123! Thanks as always for sharing, my friend!!!! Keep it up!!!!
Love Ya, Mean It!
Ellison
what a amazing performance clay did on jerry lewses laber day telathon i loved what jerry lewis had said to clay aiken happy laber day to all
Best Clay song, EV-AH!!!! Happy Labor Day, everyone!!!!
Better late than never Musicfan and Happy labor Day to all! Love that video, it was great, never get tired of that song sung by Clay. Thanks Musicfan xox.