Columbus Day

Columbus Day Second Monday in October is designated as the United States. On this day, October 12, 1492 Christopher Columbus' first voyage to America and saw the memory. However, as a federal holiday, Columbus Day was not recognized officially 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.

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 is holding 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.
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. 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.