As Christmas approaches, Santa Claus is eagerly awaited by children and so also the goodies and gifts he brings along.

It is interesting to note that the popular view of Santa we all have today - with the sleigh, the reindeer and the chimney – was derived largely from Clement Moore’s ‘The Night Before Christmas’, the 1822 book, further reinforced further by an advertising campaign.

The Santa Claus story combined with the modern retailing phenomena and consumer culture has grown since the turn of the century to make gift-giving an integral element of the Christmas celebrations. Incidentally, there was no elaborate exchanging of gifts until late 1800’s.

The Christmas tree – apparently a German tradition – began in the early 700AD century. The tradition of a Christmas Tree gradually moved to the UK and US. Since Victorian times, people had been decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon, ornaments and candles. The first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Mistletoe, representing the goddess of love (Frigga - Scandinavian), was used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals.

The 12 days of Chistmas are the ones that separate Christmas day (December 25) from Epiphany celebrated on January 6, marking Christ’s baptism (the Catholic tradition) or the day when the wise men visited baby Jesus with their gifts. This includes great fanfare and singing. The Anglo-Saxon tradition revolved around gathering together for small, serene choirs on the scenic village green lawns to sing carols and popular Christmas songs that would entertain and please the passers-by.

This joyous festival truly enlivens our hearts with warm revelry that extends well into the new year! Gift your near and dear ones, the little children, your friends and colleagues to spread the joy of Christmas.

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Most of the world marks Labor Day on first of every May with rallies and parades. The origin of May Day can be traced to Chicago. Here, the Federation of Organized Trades & Labor Unions mounted a monumental general strike on May 1, 1886 under its leader Samuel Gompers. The strike was launched as part of its push for an eight-hour working day. During a related labor rally in Haymarket Square on May 4, a bomb was hurled, killing a policeman. The incident sparked off a deadly mêlée. As unfortunate fallout of the incident, four radical labor leaders were hanged on dubious charges.

Samuel Gompers’s union reorganized itself in 1888 as the American Federation of Labor. The union again pushed for the eight-hour day. He laid plans for a strike to start on May 1, 1890 - the fourth anniversary of the walkout, which had led to the Haymarket affair. Meanwhile, a group of labor leaders in Paris assembled for establishment of the Second International. The executed Chicago radicals were revered martyrs to them. In an act of solidarity, the Second International decided on May 1, 1890, as a day of protest.

After the first May Day was deemed a huge success, the Second International decided to mark it as an annual event. May Day since then has become an international celebration of the economic and social achievements of the labor class. May Day or International Workers’ Day parades act as a platform and opportunity to show unity and strength of the working class.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) serves is the body devoted to advancing opportunities for people world over to get decent and productive work in conditions of equity, security and freedom. Its major aims are to promote rights at work, enhance social protection, strengthen dialogue in handling work-related issues and encourage decent employment opportunities.

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