CULUMBUS DAY

Many countries in the New World celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday.

This event is celebrated as:

-Columbus Day in the United States
-Día de la Raza in many countries in Latin America.
-Discovery Day in the Bahamas.
-Día de la Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain.
-Día de las Américas in Uruguay.

These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century, and officially in various countries since the early 20th century.

HISTORY

Columbus Day first became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in 1937. People have celebrated Columbus's voyage since the colonial period. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison called upon the American people to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event.

Since 1971, 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).

HOW AMERICA CELEBRATES COLOMBUS DAY

Actual observance varies in different parts of the United States, ranging from large-scale parades and events to complete non-observance. Most states celebrate Columbus Day as an official state holiday, though many mark it as a "Day of Observance" or "Recognition" and two do not recognize it at all. Some states close schools and other state services, while others operate as normal.

San Francisco claims the nation's oldest continuously existing celebration with the Italian-American community's annual Columbus Day Parade, which was established by Nicola Larco in 1868, while New York City boasts the largest.

As in the mainland U.S., Columbus Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. In the United States Virgin Islands, the day is celebrated as both Columbus Day and "Puerto Rico Friendship Day.

Virginia also celebrates two legal holidays on the day, Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day, which honors the final victory at the Siege of Yorktown in the Revolutionary War.

Hawaii and South Dakota are the two states that do not recognize Columbus Day at all, though both mark the day with an alternative holiday, also Nevada doesn’t celebrate Columbus Day as an official holiday. The city of Berkeley, California has replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day since 1992 and various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day "Native American Day", or name the day after their tribe.