3
3
Columbus Day
Columbus Day is celebrated every year on the second Monday of October in the United States . This commemorates Columbus ’ s journey to North America , as he touched on land on Oct . 12 , 1492 . It is mostly celebrated with a day off from school or work , which is used for recreational activities such as trips to parks or relaxing .
The day is also seen as an anniversary of the United States . Churches may hold special services , communities sometimes hold parades , and institutions such as schools and libraries will hold educational events . It is a popular day for picnics and barbeques . Most larger celebrations are held within the Italian-American community since Christopher Columbus was Italian , however these can sometimes focus on Italian heritage rather than Columbus ’ s influence .
Not all states celebrate Columbus Day — Nevada and California do not celebrate and Hawaiians call it either Discoverer ’ s Day or Landing Day . Some celebrate with a celebration of indigenous people instead , such as Berkley , California ’ s Indigenous People ’ s Day and Native Americans ’ Day in South Dakota .
There is a controversy regarding the holiday due to the onset of violence between these early European settlers and Native Americans . Also , Columbus is widely believed to have actually not been the first European to find North America . Leif Erikson and other Norse explorers had made excursions to the continent from Iceland centuries before . While he is often portrayed as the first to discover the New World , many will point out that the Native Americans had found the land well before and had been cultivating and developing civilizations there since .
Large celebrations take place in San Francisco and New York . San Francisco ’ s celebration boasts being the oldest one , celebrating with a Columbus Day Parade since 1868 . New York claims to be the largest parade , with over 35,000 participants and almost one million observers .
History - Columbus was born in northern Italy in October of 1451 . He spent much of his childhood helping his mother run her cheese stand . In his writings , Columbus claims to have taken his first voyage when he was ten years old . Before becoming an explorer , he traded throughout the West African coast .
During the 1480s , Columbus started preparing a plan to reach Asia through the Atlantic Ocean , not knowing that North America lay in his path . After making proposals to the king of Portugal twice , which were rejected , he approached leaders in Genoa and Venice before finding support from Ferdinand II and Isabella I , the monarchs of Spain .
Columbus set sail with 90 men and three ships the Niña , Pinta , and Santa Maria in 1492 . Due to his navigational miscalculations , he landed in the West Indies , calling the natives there Indians due to thinking he had reached India . This is not , however , because he believed the earth was round . Most people at the time , especially sailors who regularly navigated the seas , did not believe this .
The Santa Maria sank on Christmas Day that same year , preceding Columbus ’ s return to Spain . Columbus ’ s second voyage consisted of 17 ships as he set off to help settle Hispaniola . He went on to make four voyages from Spain to the Americas from 1492 to 1503 , beginning the colonization of the Americas .
The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792 , when the Columbian Order in New York City held a ceremony for the voyage ’ s 300th anniversary . The next was in 1866 by Italian-Americans . In 1905 , Colorado was the first state to declare the holiday , starting the annual tradition . It was declared a national holiday in 1971 by congress .