Cantabrigians, like their counterparts throughout the nation, expressed ambivalence to the workers in their midst in the wake of Chicago’s violent Haymarket Affair and the trial of the so-called “Chicago Eight.” Over the next three decades, workers tried to ease tensions while advocating for better conditions.

Sure, our calendars are filled with increasingly commodified holidays, but they’re also filling up with new days of nationwide significance.

Though the Lunar New Year began Feb. 1, its celebration comes Sunday to Cambridge with a small Harvard Square street fair and a car parade from Boston that will stop at City Hall. Both are free, public events.

Back under ownership of the family who founded the Harvard Square shop, Brattle Square Florist is ready for Monday’s Valentine’s Day celebrations. It’s not the only neighborhood business wooing customers.

Not only will Brattle Square Florist remain open after a December scare, it will return to the founding family who ran the business for nearly 100 years.

A community walk through The Port neighborhood to learn about Cambridge’s black and brown history is the sole in-person event planned for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the second to be celebrated during the pandemic. But there is more going on through Thursday, and all the events are free.

Brattle Square Florist will close on Jan. 31 after more than a century in business. The pandemic and a difficult economy has taken its toll, and owner Randy Ricker said he is exhausted.

Cambridge reached a milestone of sorts on Thursday: The city has now recorded more than 10,000 cases of Covid-19 among its residents since early March 2020. The Cambridge Public Health Department reported 220 new infections on Thursday – another daily record – to bring the total to 10,141 cases.

Racing to deal with exploding Covid-19 infections, Cambridge is distributing 46,000 free Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits to organizations serving low-income residents, hoping to get the tests out before Christmas and New Year’s Eve gatherings.

The Commonwealth restaurant is among restaurants reeling from pressures of the pandemic, and the Kendall Square Association is trying to help. One way to help local eateries is to celebrate New Year’s by stopping in for a meal or getting a meal to-go. There are plenty of options.