Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492. It became a US national holiday in 1937 and is celebrated worldwide. Columbus set sail to find a new trade route to Asia, but instead discovered the Bahamas and founded the first Spanish colony in the New World. Columbus Day is also a day to celebrate Italian-American heritage. The holiday is controversial due to Columbus’s impact on native peoples, and some argue he shouldn’t be credited with discovering America.
Columbus Day is a US holiday that observes the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. The holiday is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Columbus Day became a national holiday in 1937 and is celebrated around the world as well. In addition to celebrating the Italian explorer’s landing in the Americas, Columbus Day is also a day that celebrates Italian-American heritage.
Funded by Spain, Columbus set sail in 1492 in hopes of discovering a new trade route to Asia to bring gold and spices back to Europe. He set sail with a crew of less than 100 aboard three ships: the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Ten weeks later Columbus believed he had reached Asia. However, Columbus and his men reached the Bahamas.
During his voyage through the New World, Columbus saw Cuba, thinking the land was China. When he and his crew reached Hispanola, Columbus believed he had reached Japan. The explorer also founded the first Spanish colony in the New World at Hispanola. Columbus crossed the Atlantic several times thinking he had reached a new trade route to Asia.
In the United States, the earliest known celebration of Columbus Day occurred in 1792 in New York City. On the 400th anniversary of the Columbus expedition, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation to promote patriotic writing and holidays in 1892. In 1869, San Francisco hosted a festival honoring the explorer that also included a celebration of Italian-American ancestry .
Colorado was the first state to declare Columbus Day a holiday in 1907, and New York followed suit two years later. Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a national holiday in 1937 after intense petition from the fraternal organization of the Knights of Columbus. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson made Columbus Day a federal holiday on the second Monday in October. The holiday is often celebrated with parades and religious services. Government offices may close and schools are often closed that day. However, more than 20 states, including California and Nevada, do not recognize the holiday.
Many Latin American nations pay tribute to Columbus and Hispanic culture with Dia de la Raza, which translates to “race day.” Venezuela has renamed the holiday Dia de la Resistencia Indigena, which means “day of indigenous resistance” to commemorate native peoples. Columbus Day is not without controversy, as Columbus’s arrival in the New World led to the disappearance of many natives. Also, some argue that Columbus shouldn’t be credited with discovering America since he never landed on land.
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