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What are some facts about Columbus Day?
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- A Historic Day. Columbus Day celebrates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492 – an event that changed the course of history.
- A Federal Holiday. The anniversary is one of the 11 federal holidays in the United States, observed on the second Monday of October. It falls between Oct 8 and 14, depending on the calendar year.
- Who is Columbus? Christopher Columbus was a navigator from Genoa, Italy. He was the son of a wool weaver and cheese vendor. Lacking formal education, he educated himself by reading books on astronomy, geography, and history.
- Why Columbus Sailed. Columbus wanted to find a western sea route to the Far East – a source of lucrative spices. However, he ended up in the New World instead.
Oct 9, 2016 · Submit. Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries in the Americas and elsewhere which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Find out more interesting facts about it here!
- The Meaning Behind Columbus Day
- Christopher Columbus’ Burial Sites
- Special For Italian-Americans
- Why Is Columbus Day Controversial?
- Colorado Was The First
- Many States Don’T Observe Columbus Day
- Not Just The United States
Columbus Day commemorates the 1492 landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World, specifically the Americas. Many cities in the 18th century celebrated this Columbus Day unofficially before it was declared a national holiday. For a lot of people, the meaning behind Columbus Day is to remember the achievements of the eponymous explorer.
Christopher Columbus was a born explorer. He began sailing at the tender age of 15. His most famous (or infamous) destination was the Americas, which he sailed to using three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. Although two of the ships would make it back to Spain, the Santa Maria ran aground off the Haitian coast. Having sailed to the...
Aside from honoring Columbus’ achievements, Columbus Day also serves as an important holiday for Italian-Americans. Although Spain sponsored his explorations, Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy. Today, many Italian-Americans use Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage.
Despite having been celebrated for a long time, controversy surrounds Columbus Day history. To some people, Christopher Columbus is celebrated as an explorer. But, to others, he is a colonizer. While he did “discover” the New World, his arrival resulted in the enslavement and deaths of many Indigenous peoples. He also forcefully took the land of th...
Colorado was the first state to officially recognize Columbus Day as a holiday on April 1, 1907. This isn’t surprising considering Colorado even has a major city named after the Italian explorer. After Colorado, New York soon followed in 1909. And then, in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a national holiday.
Due to the controversial history behind Columbus Day, many states and cities have stopped observing the holiday altogether. Instead, they have officially replaced it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Alaska, for example, began observingIndigenous Peoples’ Day in 2017. It is worth noting that South Dakota was the first to do this in 1990. Other states i...
Perhaps one of the most interesting Columbus Day fun facts is that the United States is not alone in its celebrations. The holiday is also celebrated in other countries. It is known as Dia de la Raza in most Spanish-speaking countries, which translates to “Day of the Race.” In Spain, the day is known as Dia de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional. In t...
- Christopher Columbus was convinced he’d found a route to the Far East. Yes, he thought he’d proved that you could sail west from Europe and reach the eastern shore of China, which would make sense if the earth were round and there was nothing in between the two.
- Columbus used an almanac to outsmart native Cubans. Fed up with Columbus’s crew, islanders in Cuba decided enough was enough and refused to give him food.
- The first celebration of Columbus Day took 300 years to happen. The Society of St. Tammany in New York organized the first observance of Columbus’s “discovery” of America in 1792.
- Native Americans don’t always share the enthusiasm of the day. That’s not exactly a surprise, considering how they fared once Europeans started arriving.
Nov 11, 2016 · In the United States, October 12 is called Columbus Day; in Latin America, it is Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race), in the Bahamas, it is Discovery Day; in Argentina, it is Dia del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity); and in Belize and Uruguay, it is Dia de las Americas (Day of the Americas).
Oct 7, 2021 · Interesting Facts About Columbus Day. Columbus Day is always celebrated in some states on the second Monday in October. The day remains the same every year, but the date changes from year to year. In 2022, the date falls on Monday, October 10.
Oct 8, 2012 · In honor of the man who sailed the ocean blue in 1492, here are 10 interesting facts about Columbus Day: In early colonial America, Christopher Columbus was a symbol of American...