Today, March 1, 2015, is May Day, which is also known as International Workers’ Day.

May Day’s origins date back to May 1, 1886. It was on this day that 200,000 U.S. workers protested across the country. Their goal was an eight-hour workday and some of the protests turned violent. This became known as the Haymarket affair and it was declared a holiday by the International Socialist Conference three years later, reports Time.

The holiday spread to the rest of the world, while never quite picking up steam in America. Instead, we have Labor Day, which takes place in September. This is likely due to the socialist and communist connections of the holiday. President Eisenhower tried to further distance America from the holiday by declaring May 1 as Loyalty Day in 1958, Time notes.

May Day has been rising in popularity as a celebrated holiday in the U.S. for the last few years. Immigrants have used it as a time to protests in favor of legally moving to the country and working there. This year, many have used it to push the “Black Lives Matter” campaign, which stands against police brutality, reports the Associated Press.

More From InvestorPlace