Columbus Day Encyclopedia > Sports and Everyday Life > Days and Holidays > Days, Months, Holidays, and Festivals Columbus Day Columbus Day, holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. It has been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several of the Latin American republics. In the United States, however, since the observation in 1971 of the Uniform Holiday Act, it is celebrated on the Monday nearest to Oct. 12. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. Columbus Day: Celebration and Controversy Columbus Day: Celebration and Controversy Oct 12, 2009 Columbus Day is observed on the second Monday in October every year to honor the anniversary of the 'discovery' of America on October 12, 1492. Given recent discoveries, however, one has to ask: is celebrating Columbus Day appropriate, or are we just too lazy to do away with tradition? Show me popular schools Classrooms and federal employees cross America celebrate Columbus'exploration of the world every year.

Columbus' is often lauded as one of the greatest 'discoverers' in history. However, on His first day in the New World found him using violent force to enslave six natives. While ruling as Governor and Viceroy of the Carribbean, Columbus killed paraded dead natives through the streets to deter unrest by the natives. Columbus also used force to make native peoples search for gold and to convert them to Christianity. Despite these cruelties, many Americans continue to celebrate Columbus' 1492 voyage. Should we continue to honor a man who was responsible for the decimation of many native populations? Or should we focus on Columbus' great explorations that opened the path towards the creation of the United States. The Real Christopher Columbus What most people remember (or were taught) about Christopher Columbus can be boiled down into one effective mnemonic: 'In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.' Of course, there is much more to the story than that. Columbus set sail to search for the East Indies in August of 1492. Gold and conquest were the driving reasons behind the historic voyage.

But, the hapless navigator misjudged the circumference of the Earth and landed instead on the Bahamas. He later sailed on to Cuba and to Hispaniola (now Haiti), which he mistakenly believed to be the East Indies. From the viewpoint of the Europeans, Columbus discovered North America. In reality, Columbus discovered very little (other than the world is round and very big) as these regions were already inhabited by other people. We also know, thanks to extensive evidence uncovered by historians, that Columbus was incredibly cruel to the indigenous people he called 'Indians.' His first day in the New World found him using violent force to enslave six natives, writing in his diary that he believed they would be 'good servants.' Columbus enacted forced labor policies in the coming years and even shipped off thousands of peaceful Taino 'Indians' from the island of Hispaniola to be sold into Spanish slavery. Sixty years after Columbus' arrival, the 250,000 Taino on the island had dwindled to only a few hundred people. The History of Columbus Day For more than 200 years, Columbus Day has been celebrated in the month of October.

The first recorded Columbus Day celebration was held in New York City on October 12, 1792. The celebration was organized by a nationwide U.S. patriotic and charitable organization known as The Columbian Order or Society of St. Tammany. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison encouraged the country to continue the celebration to honor the 400th anniversary of Columbus' famous voyage. The state of Colorado began to observe the holiday a few years later, and in 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt made the holiday official by naming October 12 'Columbus Day.' President Nixon took things even further in 1971 by declaring Columbus Day to be a federal holiday, which means that federal employees get to take this day off work each year. Should We Celebrate Columbus Day? Many people believe that we should continue celebrating Columbus Day as a show of patriotism. Others, however, cannot help but question the validity of calling a vicious villain an American hero. Some groups even deny Columbus Day entirely. Indigenous People Day is celebrated instead by an organization called Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group.

Hawaiians celebrate Discoverer's Day, where they honor several explorers including the man who first put Hawaii's coordinates on the map. Others still spend the day protesting Columbus Day parades and celebrations. Should we continue to observe Columbus Day and honor the man who helped open the Americas to exploration? Or would it be preferable to rename the holiday and use it as an opportunity for learning more about the events that transpired during the Age of Discovery? Columbus Day - History, Celebrations, Critics Columbus Day By Martin Kelly Updated May 13, 2016. The second Monday in October is designated in the United States as Columbus Day. This day commemorates Christopher Columbus ' first voyage and sighting of the Americas on October 12, 1492. However, Columbus Day as a federal holiday was not officially recognized until 1937. Early Commemorations of Columbus The first recorded ceremony commemorating Columbus in America occurred in 1792, 300 years after his famous first voyage in 1492. To honor Columbus, a ceremony was held in New York, and a monument was dedicated to him in Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1892, a statue of Columbus was raised at Columbus Avenue in New York City. Further, at the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago that year, replicas of Columbus' three ships were displayed. Creating Columbus Day Italian-Americans were key in the creation of Columbus Day. Beginning on October 12, 1866, New York City's Italian population organized a celebration of the 'discovery' of America. This yearly celebration spread to other cities and became known as Columbus Day in San Francisco in 1869. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know Colorado became the first state to observe an official Columbus Day in 1905. Over time other states followed until 1937 when President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. In 1971, the federal holiday was officially changed by Congress to be observed on the second Monday in October. Current Celebrations Since Columbus Day is a designated federal holiday, the post office, government offices, and many banks are closed. Many cities across America stage parades that day. For example, Baltimore claims to have the "Oldest Continuous Marching Parade in America" celebrating Columbus Day.

Denver held its 101st parade in 2008. New York City holds a Columbus Celebration that includes a parade down Fifth Avenue and a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. In addition, Columbus Day is also celebrated in other parts of the world including some cities in Italy and Spain along with parts of Canada and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico also has a public holiday celebrating the discovery of the island by Columbus on November 19th. Critics of Columbus Day Leading up to the 500th anniversary of Columbus sighting of the America's which occurred in 1992, many groups came out against celebrations celebrating the explorer. Columbus had arrived in the Caribbean islands on his first voyage to the New World. He believed that he had reached India and that the Taino, the indigenous people he found there, were in fact Indians. In a later voyage, he captured and sent over 1,200 of the Taino to Europe as slaves. Further, the Spanish who remained on the islands used the Taino people as forced labor, punishing them with torture and/or death if they resisted.

Adding these terrible acts to the unwitting passing of disease from the Europeans to the Taino would mean that the entire population of Hispaniola was wiped out in forty-three years. Many people cite this as the reason why Americans should not be celebrating Columbus' accomplishments. Individuals and groups continue to speak out against and in many cases protest Columbus Day celebrations. Columbus Day in the United States Home Calendar Holidays the United States Columbus Day Columbus Day in the United States Columbus Day, which is on the second Monday of October, remembers Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas on October 12, 1492. This holiday is controversial because the European settlement in the Americas led to the demise of the history and culture of the indigenous peoples. Statue of Christopher Columbus The Christopher Columbus monument in Barcelona, Spain. ©iStockphoto.com/Lya_Cattel Observe Columbus Day Some Americans celebrate the anniversary of the discovery of their country with church services and other activities. In some towns and cities, special church services, parades and large events are held. Many celebrations happen in the Italian-American community. The celebrations in New York and San Francisco are particularly noteworthy. In Hawaii Columbus Day is celebrated as Discoverers' Day, but it is not a state holiday.

Many states now celebrate Native Americans' Day/Indigenous People's Day instead of Columbus Day. What’s Open or Closed? Columbus day is a public holiday in many parts of the United states, but is not a day off in some states. Some government offices are closed because Columbus Day is still a federal government holiday. The day is a legal observance in states like Florida. Many businesses and shops are open in states that don't have Columbus Day as a public holiday. Schools are not required to close but check with your school district or school calendar on Columbus Day school holiday closures. The same goes for post offices - check with your local post office. About Columbus Day Christopher Columbus is often portrayed as the first European to sail to the Americas. He is sometimes portrayed as the discoverer of the New World. However, this is controversial on many counts. There is evidence that the first Europeans to sail across the Atlantic were Viking explorers from Scandinavia. In addition, the land was already populated by indigenous peoples, who had 'discovered' the Americas thousands of years before. Columbus Day originated as a celebration of Italian-American heritage and was first held in San Francisco in 1869.

The first state-wide celebration was held in Colorado in 1907. In 1937, Columbus Day become a holiday across the United States. Since 1971, it has been celebrated on the second Monday in October. The date on which Columbus arrived in the Americas is also celebrated as the DÃ­a de la Raza (Day of the Race) in Latin America and some Latino communities in the USA. However, it is a controversial holiday in some countries and has been re-named in others. Columbus Day celebrations are controversial because the settlement of Europeans in the Americas led to the deaths of a very large proportion of the native people. It has been argued that this was a direct result of Columbus' actions. It is clear that the arrival of the European settlers led to the demise of a large proportion of the history and culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It has also been argued that Columbus should not be honored for discovering North America, as he only went as far as some islands in the Caribbean and never got as far as mainland America. Note: timeanddate.com states the facts and issues associated with this observance but does not disclose its opinion on the matter.

Columbus Day Observances Columbus Day - Exploration - HISTORY.com Columbus Day A+E Networks Introduction Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century but did not become a federal holiday until the 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus’ achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. Throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years. Google Origins of Columbus Day A U.S. national holiday since 1937, Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. The Italian-born explorer had set sail two months earlier, backed by the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

He intended to chart a western sea route to China, India and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia; instead, he landed in the Bahamas, becoming the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland during the 10th century. Did You Know? Contrary to popular belief, most educated Europeans in Columbus' day understood that the world was round, but they did not yet know that the Pacific Ocean existed. As a result, Columbus and his contemporaries assumed that only the Atlantic lay between Europe and the riches of the East Indies. Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba and believed it was mainland China; in December the expedition found Hispaniola, which he though might be Japan. There, he established Spain’s first colony in the Americas with 39 of his men. In March 1493, the explorer returned to Spain in triumph, bearing gold, spices and “Indian” captives. He crossed the Atlantic several more times before his death in 1506; by his third journey, he realized that he hadn’t reached Asia but instead had stumbled upon a continent previously unknown to Europeans.

Columbus Day in the United States The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792, when New York’s Columbian Order–better known as Tammany Hall–held an event to commemorate the historic landing’s 300th anniversary. Taking pride in Columbus’ birthplace and faith, Italian and Catholic communities in various parts of the country began organizing annual religious ceremonies and parades in his honor. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage with patriotic festivities, writing, “On that day let the people, so far as possible, cease from toil and devote themselves to such exercises as may best express honor to the discoverer and their appreciation of the great achievements of the four completed centuries of American life.” In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday, largely as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, an influential Catholic fraternal benefits organization. Originally observed every October 12, it was fixed to the second Monday in October in 1971.

Columbus Day Alternatives Opposition to Columbus Day dates back to the 19th century, when anti-immigrant groups in the United States rejected the holiday because of its association with Catholicism. In recent decades, Native Americans and other groups have protested the celebration of an event that indirectly resulted in the colonization of the Americas and the death of millions: European settlers brought a host of infectious diseases, including smallpox and influenza, that decimated indigenous populations; warfare between Native Americans and the colonists claimed many lives as well. The image of Christopher Columbus as an intrepid hero has also been called into question. Upon arriving in the Bahamas, the explorer and his men forced the native peoples they found there into slavery; later, while serving as the governor of Hispaniola, he allegedly imposed barbaric forms of punishment, including torture. In many Latin American nations, the anniversary of Columbus’ landing has traditionally been observed as the Dìa de la Raza (“Day of the Race”), a celebration of Hispanic culture’s diverse roots. In 2002, Venezuela renamed the holiday Dìa de la Resistencia Indìgena (“Day of Indigenous Resistance”) to recognize native peoples and their experience. Several U.S.

cities and states have replaced Columbus Day with alternative days of remembrance; examples include Berkeley’s Indigenous Peoples Day, South Dakota’s Native American Day and Hawaii’s Discoverer’s Day, which commemorates the arrival of Polynesian settlers. Columbus Day Traditions In many parts of the United States, Columbus Day has evolved into a celebration of Italian-American heritage. Local groups host parades and street fairs featuring colorful costumes, music and Italian food. In cities and towns that use the day to honor indigenous peoples, activities include pow-wows, traditional dance and lessons about Native American culture. Tags Articles about Discovery Of America - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel DISCOVERED. Cave paintings in the Caribbean may be... April 4, 1989 DISCOVERED. Cave paintings in the Caribbean may be evidence that Portuguese sailors beat Columbus to America by more than 40 years, a British explorer said Monday. Col. John Blashford-Snell said villagers on Abaco in the Bahamas told him of mysterious cave drawings of two old galleons bearing the Portuguese flag and the date 1450. If genuine, the pictures would pre-date by 42 years the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

LOCAL Japan will build a replica of... July 15, 1988 RESAIL THE OCEAN BLUE. Japan will build a replica of Christopher Columbus's ship, the Santa Maria, and sail it from Spain to Japan in 1992 to mark the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. Akihiko Osugi, an official at Kadokawa Publishing Co., said Thursday that Japanese technicians will build a three-mast ship similar to those used by Columbus in 1492. The replica, to be built in Barcelona, Spain, will cost $9.85 million. LOCAL Design Gets National Audience June 6, 1992 The work of Corey Schoff, a 29-year-old Kissimmee landscape architect, will be on display at AmeriFlora '92 in Columbus, Ohio. The $93 million exposition marks the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America and has international and domestic exhibits.Schoff designed the German garden, which includes a model train, small-scale buildings and a miniature forest.

AmeriFlora '92, which started on April 12 and will end on Columbus Day, will be featured on PBS television at 10 a.m. today. LOCAL Chavez Tells Latin Americans Not To Celebrate Columbus Day October 12, 2003 CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged Latin Americans on Saturday not to celebrate Columbus Day, saying the 1492 discovery of the Americas triggered a 150-year "genocide" of native people by Spanish conquistadors such as Hernando Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, who behaved "worse than Hitler." Columbus Day, commemorating the discovery of America on Oct. 12, 1492, is a holiday in the United States and several Latin American nations, but Chavez said it should be remembered as the "Day of Indian Resistance." LOCAL Pope Prays For African-americans February 10, 1992 Defending victims of ''modern slavery,'' Pope John Paul II on Sunday prayed that African-Americans reach social fulfillment. Recalling a Spanish missionary, St.

Peter Claver, who championed the cause of African slaves in the Americas in the early 1600s, John Paul said he was raising his voice ''to defend the victims of all the modern slaveries which oppress so many men and women today.'' He prayed that ''Afro-Americans, scattered throughout the various regions of America, will obtain, according to God's plan, their full human potential in personal and social context. LOCAL Jonathan Raban October 2, 1994 In Hunting Mister Heartbreak A Discovery of America (HarperPerennial, 1992), English writer Jonathan Raban sets out to experience the metamorphosis of the foreigner into the American. One place he visits is Key West.Behind its concrete military frontage, Key West was a city of carpentry. It looked as if it had been put together by a ships drunken chippie on furlough. He had the sailors affection for small, intricate spaces, bound by the length of a hammock and the width of a ditty box, and had built streets of cabins rather than houses.

LOCAL Jonathan Raban October 2, 1994 In Hunting Mister Heartbreak A Discovery of America (HarperPerennial, 1992), English writer Jonathan Raban sets out to experience the metamorphosis of the foreigner into the American. One place he visits is Key West.Behind its concrete military frontage, Key West was a city of carpentry. It looked as if it had been put together by a ships drunken chippie on furlough. He had the sailors affection for small, intricate spaces, bound by the length of a hammock and the width of a ditty box, and had built streets of cabins rather than houses. LOCAL Gerald Thomas November 11, 1993 Thomas, director of 31 Carry On films that turned sexual innuendo into a fine art, died Tuesday in London of a heart attack. He was 72. Thomas was hailed as the comic genius behind the bawdy films with such titles as Carry on Camping and Carry On Up The Khyber. His final film, a spoof on the discovery of America - Carry On Columbus - was a box office hit last year.

BUSINESS Advertising May 13, 1993 SANFORD BUSINESSMAN Jeno Paulucci's 16-month battle with an Italian corporation organizing a celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America in Genoa, Italy, is over. Paulucci's JFP Associates Inc. was to advertise the celebration in North America, but Ente Colombo '92 did not hire the company, Paulucci said in his federal court suit. The dispute ended late last month when both parties agreed to dismiss the action. The celebration was held last year. ENTERTAINMENT Geography: More Than Locations By Reviewed By Sam A. Mackie Special To The Sentinel, January 24, 1993 Two years ago, author Kenneth Davis sent minor shock waves coursing through the educational communities with the publication of his book, Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need To Know About American History But Never Learned. That volume sold 500,000 copies, spent months on the national best-seller lists and was widely accepted for its thesis that, if we remember our American history at all, much of it is either mistaken or fabricated by well-meaning but misguided history teachers.

LOCAL Design Gets National Audience June 6, 1992 The work of Corey Schoff, a 29-year-old Kissimmee landscape architect, will be on display at AmeriFlora '92 in Columbus, Ohio. The $93 million exposition marks the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America and has international and domestic exhibits.Schoff designed the German garden, which includes a model train, small-scale buildings and a miniature forest. AmeriFlora '92, which started on April 12 and will end on Columbus Day, will be featured on PBS television at 10 a.m. today. LOCAL `Making Of The Dream' January 21, 2000 What: Under a grant from the Thomas Kinkade Galleries (there are five of them in Central Florida), children and their parents will be able to ``understand historical timelines by viewing famous art treasures,'' according to a release about the ``Making of the Dream'' show. The 36 paintings highlight historical subjects by American artists, beginning with the discovery of America by Columbus.

That painting is pictured above as it was being unpacked by Tim Denny, assistant gallery director at the Park Avenue Kinkade gallery; helping him is Killarney Elementary fourth-grader Jordan Ponce. LOCAL During This Week In Seminole County In . . . By Chet Glover of The Sentinel Staff, October 18, 1987 1892: All the schools in the county participated in a nationwide celebration of the 400th aniversary of the discovery of America. It was estimated that locally 2,986 children and 12,670 adults participated in the event. At a cost of $118, about 3,692 flags were distributed to the schools in honor of the event. Samples of school work of every child in the county, along with many photographs, were sent to the World's Fair in Chicago. The material is bound in books and preserved in the National Pedagogic Museum in Washington, D.C.1941: Construction began on the 1,640-acre Sanford Naval Air Station.

Pope Prays For African-americans February 10, 1992 Defending victims of ''modern slavery,'' Pope John Paul II on Sunday prayed that African-Americans reach social fulfillment. Recalling a Spanish missionary, St. Peter Claver, who championed the cause of African slaves in the Americas in the early 1600s, John Paul said he was raising his voice ''to defend the victims of all the modern slaveries which oppress so many men and women today.'' He prayed that ''Afro-Americans, scattered throughout the various regions of America, will obtain, according to God's plan, their full human potential in personal and social context. LOCAL DISCOVERED. Cave paintings in the Caribbean may be... April 4, 1989 DISCOVERED. Cave paintings in the Caribbean may be evidence that Portuguese sailors beat Columbus to America by more than 40 years, a British explorer said Monday. Col. John Blashford-Snell said villagers on Abaco in the Bahamas told him of mysterious cave drawings of two old galleons bearing the Portuguese flag and the date 1450.

If genuine, the pictures would pre-date by 42 years the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. Columbus Day | Article about Columbus Day by The Free Dictionary Columbus Day | Article about Columbus Day by The Free Dictionary Related to Columbus Day: Christopher Columbus Columbus Day, holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. It has been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several of the Latin American republics. In the United States, however, since the observation in 1971 of the Uniform Holiday Act, it is celebrated on the Monday nearest to Oct. 12. Columbus Day Type of Holiday: Historic, National Date of Observation: Second Monday in October Where Celebrated: Italy, Latin America, Mexico, United States, and most Spanishspeaking nations Symbols and Customs: Parades, Reenactments ORIGINS Most educated Europeans in the fifteenth century believed that the earth was round, but even the best geographers thought that there were 10,000 miles of ocean between Europe and the East Indies, and few believed that a ship could successfully complete such a difficult journey.

Christopher Columbus, a forty-sixyear-old Italian explorer, was confident that it was barely a quarter of that distance, and his gross underestimation probably made him more courageous than he should have been when he set out on August 3, 1492, to find the so-called Spice Islands, also known as the Moluccas or East Indies. His famous voyage was financed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, who hoped that he would bring back spices-in particular pepper, used in the days before refrigeration to preserve meats and to disguise unpleasant tastes. Columbus not only underestimated the distance but failed to realize that another huge land mass lay between Europe and Asia. So when he arrived two months later on the island he named San Salvador, now believed to be Watling's Island in the Bahamas, he thought he had reached the East Indies. The "Indians" he encountered there were actually members of the Arawak tribe. They lacked spices, gold, or anything else worth bringing back, but they were peaceful and helpful, and they served as guides during the remainder of his voyage.

Columbus made three other voyages over a nine-year period, eventually visting Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad, and the mouth of the Orinoco River on the South American mainland. His fourth voyage took him down to the Isthmus of Panama, but he never found the westward passage that would take him home around the world, and he eventually returned to Spain for the last time in 1504. He lost his patron when Queen Isabella died a few weeks later, and Columbus himself died in 1506, poverty-stricken and with his achievements largely forgotten. The celebration of Columbus's birthday is especially popular in Italy and among Italian-Americans in cities like New York and Philadelphia. Observances are also widespread in Spain, from which he launched his voyages, and in Mexico, where Columbus Day is part of the celebration of Día de la Raza, or Day of the Race. The first observance in the United States was held in New York City in 1792, the 300th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage. But another hundred years elapsed before a nationwide celebration was held in 1892.

The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic society for men founded in 1882, urged state legislatures repeatedly to declare October 12 a legal holiday, but it was not until 1901 that New York became the first state to do so. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law designating the second Monday in October a national holiday. National holidays can be defined as those commemorations that a nation's government has deemed important enough to warrant inclusion in the list of official public holidays. They tend to honor a person or event that has been critical in the development of the nation and its identity. Such people and events usually reflect values and traditions shared by a large portion of the citizenry. For Americans, the very act of celebrating notable occasions-like the Fourth of July, battle anniversaries, and others-nurtured patriotism and national identity. It was crucial for the new nation, which lacked a shared history and ancient local heroes, to invent traditions and mark important national occasions. The shared experience of celebrating common holidays created a bond of tradition and a sense of belonging to a relatively new homeland. As more and diverse peoples migrated to the United States, it became even more important to celebrate significant annual anniversaries.

But these celebrations can change over the years. In the late twentieth century, as the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage approached, radical reassessments of Columbus and his effect on the New World appeared in the popular and academic press. The cultural and historical climate had changed. Many people questioned the validity of giving Columbus credit for "discovering" America. In particular, the American Indian movement of the 1960s and 1970s did much to present a long-neglected side of the Columbus story-the perspectives of the peoples who lived on the continents for centuries before Europeans arrived. Thus, the 500th anniversary proved to be another instance when the actions of this pivotal figure from American history galvanized the interest of the public. Today it remains a day of protest and mourning for some, commemoration of an ancestor for others. The Transform Columbus Day Alliance, a coalition of groups that participate in annual protests at Denver's Columbus Day Parade, the longest-running parade in America, urges the abolition of the Columbus Day holiday and instead "[advocates] a celebration that is much more inclusive and more accurately reflective of the cultural and racial richness of the Americas." In recent years, several U.S.

cities and states, including Alabama, South Dakota, and Hawaii, have renamed Columbus Day to be more reflective of America's dawning cultural sensitivity. SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS Parades Probably the best-known celebration of Columbus Day is the huge parade that takes place in New York City, where more than 35,000 marchers and over one million spectators, including members of the Knights of Columbus and ItalianAmerican groups, march up Fifth Avenue. Local, state, and national political leaders often participate in the parade or review the procession as it passes. Later in the day, they usually attend a Columbus Day dinner in one of the city's hotels. The Columbus Day parade is also a big event in Boston, alternating between downtown in odd-numbered years and Revere/East Boston in even-numbered years. On the West Coast, the largest parades take place in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Although parades were not generally a part of the Anglo-American observance of Columbus Day until after 1892, in many ways they resemble Italian religious processions. Reenactments Reenactments of Columbus's first landing in the New World are held in various locations across the United States.

In the seaside community of Asbury Park, New Jersey, there is a pageant depicting the landing of Columbus on the Sunday nearest October 12. A city employee portrays Christopher Columbus as he disembarks from the longboat that has just brought him to shore, while "Indians" emerge from a simulated village set up on the beach to welcome the explorer. After the mayor delivers a speech, a member of the local Sons of Italy lodge lays a wreath at the base of the explorer's statue. In San Francisco, tepees are erected on the beach in Aquatic Park, and individuals wearing colorful Indian costumes walk among them. Queen Isabella, with her attendants, arrives on a float from the parade, and shortly afterward, three boats provided by the city's Italian fishermen enter the cove and drop their anchors. Christopher Columbus and a few of his men come ashore in a rowboat and proceed to the Indian village, where they smoke a peace pipe with the Indian chief. Then he walks over to the platform that represents the queen's court in Barcelona, and she listens while he recounts the highlights of his voyage.

The typical landing reenactment probably derives from the scene depicted in John Vanderlyn's painting, The Landing of Columbus, which was commissioned for the U.S. Capitol rotunda in 1839 and was later reproduced widely on U.S. postage stamps. FURTHER READING Christianson, Stephen G., and Jane M. Hatch. The American Book of Days. 4th ed. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000. Cohen, Hennig, and Tristram Potter Coffin. The Folklore of American Holidays. 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. Dunkling, Leslie. A Dictionary of Days. New York: Facts on File, 1988. Harper, Howard V. Days and Customs of All Faiths. 1957. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. Humphrey, Grace. Stories of the World's Holidays. 1923. Reprint.

Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. McSpadden, J. Walker. The Book of Holidays. New York: Crowell, 1958. Schaun, George and Virginia, and David Wisniewski. American Holidays and Special Days. 3rd ed. Lanham: Maryland Historical Press, 2002. Trawicky, Bernard, and Ruth W. Gregory. Anniversaries and Holidays. 5th ed. Chicago: American Library Assocation, 2000. Van Straalen, Alice. The Book of Holidays Around the World. New York: Dutton, 1986. WEB SITE Columbus Day Second Monday in October When the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) persuaded King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to provide financial backing for his plan to find a new route to the Orient by sailing west, he was confident that only about 2,400 miles of ocean separated the two continents—a gross underestimation, as it turned out. And when he first landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, he believed that he'd reached the East Indies.

Despite these errors in judgment, Columbus is credited with opening the New World to European colonization, and the anniversary of his landing on the Bahamian island of San Salvador is commemorated not only in the United States but in Italy and most of the Spanish-speaking nations of the world. Also known as Landing Day, Discoverers' Day (in Hawaii), Discovery Day, Hispanity Day in Spain, and in many Latin American countries as Día de la Raza or Day of the Race, the second Monday in October is celebrated in this country with parades, patriotic ceremonies, and pageants reenacting the historic landing. A mammoth parade up Fifth Avenue in New York City is a Columbus Day tradition. In 1991, the spirit of political correctness affected Berkeley, California, as Columbus Day was cancelled in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Likewise, the Student Senate at the University of Cincinnati declared that myths about Columbus may not be studied or discussed—the University is "a Columbus-myth-free-campus." CONTACTS: Colombus day | Article about Colombus day by The Free Dictionary Colombus day | Article about Colombus day by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Wikipedia .

Columbus Day, holiday commemorating Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. It has been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several of the Latin American republics. In the United States, however, since the observation in 1971 of the Uniform Holiday Act, it is celebrated on the Monday nearest to Oct. 12. Columbus Day Type of Holiday: Historic, National Date of Observation: Second Monday in October Where Celebrated: Italy, Latin America, Mexico, United States, and most Spanishspeaking nations Symbols and Customs: Parades, Reenactments ORIGINS Most educated Europeans in the fifteenth century believed that the earth was round, but even the best geographers thought that there were 10,000 miles of ocean between Europe and the East Indies, and few believed that a ship could successfully complete such a difficult journey.

Christopher Columbus, a forty-sixyear-old Italian explorer, was confident that it was barely a quarter of that distance, and his gross underestimation probably made him more courageous than he should have been when he set out on August 3, 1492, to find the so-called Spice Islands, also known as the Moluccas or East Indies. His famous voyage was financed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, who hoped that he would bring back spices-in particular pepper, used in the days before refrigeration to preserve meats and to disguise unpleasant tastes. Columbus not only underestimated the distance but failed to realize that another huge land mass lay between Europe and Asia. So when he arrived two months later on the island he named San Salvador, now believed to be Watling's Island in the Bahamas, he thought he had reached the East Indies. The "Indians" he encountered there were actually members of the Arawak tribe. They lacked spices, gold, or anything else worth bringing back, but they were peaceful and helpful, and they served as guides during the remainder of his voyage.

Columbus made three other voyages over a nine-year period, eventually visting Dominica, Jamaica, Trinidad, and the mouth of the Orinoco River on the South American mainland. His fourth voyage took him down to the Isthmus of Panama, but he never found the westward passage that would take him home around the world, and he eventually returned to Spain for the last time in 1504. He lost his patron when Queen Isabella died a few weeks later, and Columbus himself died in 1506, poverty-stricken and with his achievements largely forgotten. The celebration of Columbus's birthday is especially popular in Italy and among Italian-Americans in cities like New York and Philadelphia. Observances are also widespread in Spain, from which he launched his voyages, and in Mexico, where Columbus Day is part of the celebration of Día de la Raza, or Day of the Race. The first observance in the United States was held in New York City in 1792, the 300th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage. But another hundred years elapsed before a nationwide celebration was held in 1892.

The Knights of Columbus, a Roman Catholic society for men founded in 1882, urged state legislatures repeatedly to declare October 12 a legal holiday, but it was not until 1901 that New York became the first state to do so. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed a law designating the second Monday in October a national holiday. National holidays can be defined as those commemorations that a nation's government has deemed important enough to warrant inclusion in the list of official public holidays. They tend to honor a person or event that has been critical in the development of the nation and its identity. Such people and events usually reflect values and traditions shared by a large portion of the citizenry. For Americans, the very act of celebrating notable occasions-like the Fourth of July, battle anniversaries, and others-nurtured patriotism and national identity. It was crucial for the new nation, which lacked a shared history and ancient local heroes, to invent traditions and mark important national occasions. The shared experience of celebrating common holidays created a bond of tradition and a sense of belonging to a relatively new homeland. As more and diverse peoples migrated to the United States, it became even more important to celebrate significant annual anniversaries.

But these celebrations can change over the years. In the late twentieth century, as the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage approached, radical reassessments of Columbus and his effect on the New World appeared in the popular and academic press. The cultural and historical climate had changed. Many people questioned the validity of giving Columbus credit for "discovering" America. In particular, the American Indian movement of the 1960s and 1970s did much to present a long-neglected side of the Columbus story-the perspectives of the peoples who lived on the continents for centuries before Europeans arrived. Thus, the 500th anniversary proved to be another instance when the actions of this pivotal figure from American history galvanized the interest of the public. Today it remains a day of protest and mourning for some, commemoration of an ancestor for others. The Transform Columbus Day Alliance, a coalition of groups that participate in annual protests at Denver's Columbus Day Parade, the longest-running parade in America, urges the abolition of the Columbus Day holiday and instead "[advocates] a celebration that is much more inclusive and more accurately reflective of the cultural and racial richness of the Americas." In recent years, several U.S.

cities and states, including Alabama, South Dakota, and Hawaii, have renamed Columbus Day to be more reflective of America's dawning cultural sensitivity. SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS Parades Probably the best-known celebration of Columbus Day is the huge parade that takes place in New York City, where more than 35,000 marchers and over one million spectators, including members of the Knights of Columbus and ItalianAmerican groups, march up Fifth Avenue. Local, state, and national political leaders often participate in the parade or review the procession as it passes. Later in the day, they usually attend a Columbus Day dinner in one of the city's hotels. The Columbus Day parade is also a big event in Boston, alternating between downtown in odd-numbered years and Revere/East Boston in even-numbered years. On the West Coast, the largest parades take place in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Although parades were not generally a part of the Anglo-American observance of Columbus Day until after 1892, in many ways they resemble Italian religious processions. Reenactments Reenactments of Columbus's first landing in the New World are held in various locations across the United States.

In the seaside community of Asbury Park, New Jersey, there is a pageant depicting the landing of Columbus on the Sunday nearest October 12. A city employee portrays Christopher Columbus as he disembarks from the longboat that has just brought him to shore, while "Indians" emerge from a simulated village set up on the beach to welcome the explorer. After the mayor delivers a speech, a member of the local Sons of Italy lodge lays a wreath at the base of the explorer's statue. In San Francisco, tepees are erected on the beach in Aquatic Park, and individuals wearing colorful Indian costumes walk among them. Queen Isabella, with her attendants, arrives on a float from the parade, and shortly afterward, three boats provided by the city's Italian fishermen enter the cove and drop their anchors. Christopher Columbus and a few of his men come ashore in a rowboat and proceed to the Indian village, where they smoke a peace pipe with the Indian chief. Then he walks over to the platform that represents the queen's court in Barcelona, and she listens while he recounts the highlights of his voyage.

The typical landing reenactment probably derives from the scene depicted in John Vanderlyn's painting, The Landing of Columbus, which was commissioned for the U.S. Capitol rotunda in 1839 and was later reproduced widely on U.S. postage stamps. FURTHER READING Christianson, Stephen G., and Jane M. Hatch. The American Book of Days. 4th ed. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000. Cohen, Hennig, and Tristram Potter Coffin. The Folklore of American Holidays. 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. Dunkling, Leslie. A Dictionary of Days. New York: Facts on File, 1988. Harper, Howard V. Days and Customs of All Faiths. 1957. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. Humphrey, Grace. Stories of the World's Holidays. 1923. Reprint.

Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1990. McSpadden, J. Walker. The Book of Holidays. New York: Crowell, 1958. Schaun, George and Virginia, and David Wisniewski. American Holidays and Special Days. 3rd ed. Lanham: Maryland Historical Press, 2002. Trawicky, Bernard, and Ruth W. Gregory. Anniversaries and Holidays. 5th ed. Chicago: American Library Assocation, 2000. Van Straalen, Alice. The Book of Holidays Around the World. New York: Dutton, 1986. WEB SITE Columbus Day Second Monday in October When the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) persuaded King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to provide financial backing for his plan to find a new route to the Orient by sailing west, he was confident that only about 2,400 miles of ocean separated the two continents—a gross underestimation, as it turned out. And when he first landed in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, he believed that he'd reached the East Indies.

Despite these errors in judgment, Columbus is credited with opening the New World to European colonization, and the anniversary of his landing on the Bahamian island of San Salvador is commemorated not only in the United States but in Italy and most of the Spanish-speaking nations of the world. Also known as Landing Day, Discoverers' Day (in Hawaii), Discovery Day, Hispanity Day in Spain, and in many Latin American countries as Día de la Raza or Day of the Race, the second Monday in October is celebrated in this country with parades, patriotic ceremonies, and pageants reenacting the historic landing. A mammoth parade up Fifth Avenue in New York City is a Columbus Day tradition. In 1991, the spirit of political correctness affected Berkeley, California, as Columbus Day was cancelled in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Likewise, the Student Senate at the University of Cincinnati declared that myths about Columbus may not be studied or discussed—the University is "a Columbus-myth-free-campus." CONTACTS:

Question: Columbus Day commemorating the discovery of America is celebrated in which month?
Answer: October