Holiday:
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere
celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival
in the Americas, which happened on October 12, 1492, as an
official holiday. The landing is celebrated as Columbus Day
in the United States, as Día de la Raza in many countries in
Latin America, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día de la
Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain, as Día del Respeto
a la Diversidad Cultural (Day of Respect for Cultural
Diversity) in Argentina, and as Día de las Américas (Day of
the Americas) in Belize and Uruguay. These holidays have
been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century,
and officially in various areas since the early 20th
century.
Columbus Day first became an official state holiday
in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in the
United States in 1937, though people have celebrated
Columbus' voyage since the colonial period. In 1792, New
York City and other U.S. cities celebrated the 300th
anniversary of his landing in the New World. President
Benjamin Harrison called upon the people of the United
States to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of
the event. During the four hundredth anniversary in 1892,
teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used Columbus Day
rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These patriotic
rituals were framed around themes such as support for war,
citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the
nation, and celebrating social progress.
Many Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration
of their heritage, the first occasion being in New York City
on October 12, 1866. Columbus Day was first enshrined as
a legal holiday in the United States through the lobbying of
Angelo Noce, a first generation Italian, in Denver. The
first statewide Columbus Day holiday was proclaimed by
Colorado governor Jesse F. McDonald in 1905, and it was made
a statutory holiday in 1907. In April 1934, as a result of
lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, Congress and President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt made October 12 a federal holiday
under the name Columbus Day.
Since 1970, the holiday has been fixed to the second Monday
in October, coincidentally the same day as Thanksgiving in
neighboring Canada (which was fixed to that date in 1959)
(note that October 12, 1970, was a Monday). It is generally
observed nowadays by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal
Service, other federal agencies, most state government
offices, many businesses, and most school districts. Some
businesses and some stock exchanges remain open, also some
states and municipalities abstain from observing the
holiday.
Source:
Wikipedia: Columbus Day |
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