Columbus Day

File:Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio - Ritratto di Cristoforo Colombo (1520).jpg ({{langx|it|Cristoforo Colombo}}), posthumous portrait by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, {{circa}} 1520]]

The first Columbus Day celebration took place on October 12, 1792, when the Columbian Order of New York, better known as the Tammany Society (the precursor to Tammany Hall), held an event to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the historic landing.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Columbus Day|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Columbus-Day|encyclopedia=Britannica Encyclopedia

|access-date=October 11, 2021}} The Columbus Obelisk in Baltimore was erected in 1792.

Many Italian Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of their heritage and not of Columbus himself, and the day was celebrated in New York City on October 12, 1866.{{Cite web |title=Día de la Raza – Viva Cuernavaca |url=http://universaldomainexchange.com/vivacue2/dia-de-la-raza/ |access-date=2018-12-02 |website=universaldomainexchange.com |language=en-US}} The day was first enshrined as a legal holiday in the United States through the lobbying of Angelo Noce, a first-generation American, in Denver.{{Cite book |last=Noce |first=Angelo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ci1OAAAAYAAJ |title=Columbus Day in Colorado: Angelo Noce ... |date=1910 |publisher=Angelo Noce, printer |language=en}} The first statewide holiday was proclaimed by Colorado governor Jesse F. McDonald in 1905, and it was made a statutory holiday in 1907.Sale, Kirkpatrick, "The Conquest of Paradise", p. 359, {{ISBN|0-333-57479-6}}{{Cite web |title=Yuma Pioneer September 15, 1905 – Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection |url=https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/cgi-bin/colorado?a=d&d=YPI19050915.2.68&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN--------0- |access-date=2018-12-07 |website=www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org}} (Colorado replaced Columbus Day with Frances Xavier Cabrini Day in 2020, though that holiday is observed a week earlier.){{cite web|url=https://www.cpr.org/2020/10/03/monday-is-colorados-1st-mother-cabrini-day-heres-why-the-state-chose-her-to-replace-columbus-day|title=The first Monday Of October is Frances Xavier Cabrini Day. Here's why Colorado chose to replace Columbus Day|last1=Townsend|first1=Lief|date=October 3, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2024}}

For the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1892, following the lynchings of 11 Italian immigrants by a mob in New Orleans, President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day as a one-time national celebration.{{Cite web|url=https://www.whatsoproudlywehail.org/curriculum/the-american-calendar/proclamation-on-the-400th-anniversary-of-the-discovery-of-america-by-columbus|title=Proclamation on the 400th Anniversary of the Discovery of America by Columbus|website=www.whatsoproudlywehail.org|access-date=2018-12-07}} The proclamation was part of a wider effort after the lynching incident to placate Italian Americans and ease diplomatic tensions with Italy.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/12/opinion/columbus-day-italian-american-racism.html|title=Opinion: How Italians Became 'White'|last=Staples|first=Brent|date=2019-10-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-14|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} During the anniversary in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets, and politicians used rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These rituals took themes such as citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and the celebration of social progress, included among them was the Pledge of Allegiance by Francis Bellamy.Kubal, Timothy. 2008. Cultural Movements and Collective Memory: Christopher Columbus and the Rewriting of the National Origin Myth. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.{{cite web|url=http://theamericanscholar.org/what-columbus-day-really-means/|title=What Columbus Day Really Means|last=Connell|first=William J.|year=2010|publisher=The American Scholar}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/how-columbus-day-fell-victim-to-its-own-success/261922/|title=How Columbus Day Fell Victim to Its Own Success|last=Appelbaum|first=Yoni|date=October 8, 2012|magazine=The Atlantic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423042032/http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/how-columbus-day-fell-victim-to-its-own-success/261922/|archive-date=April 23, 2013|url-status=live|access-date=April 23, 2013|df=mdy-all}}

File:Columbus-day.svg]]

In 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and New York City Italian leader Generoso Pope, Congress passed a statute stating: "The President is requested to issue each year a proclamation (1) designating October 12 as Columbus Day; (2) calling on United States government officials to display the flag of the United States on all government buildings on Columbus Day; and (3) inviting the people of the United States to observe Columbus Day, in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies that express the public sentiment befitting the anniversary of the discovery of America."{{cite web|url=http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/36C1.txt|title=36 USC 107, ch. 184, 48 Stat. 657|author=United States House of Representatives|author-link=United States House of Representatives|date=April 30, 1934|work=United States Code|publisher=Office of the Law Revision Counsel|format=Text|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006210010/http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/36C1.txt|archive-date=October 6, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=October 19, 2012|df=mdy}}{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct12.html|title=Today in History: October 12|author=American Memory|author-link=American Memory|date=October 6, 2010|work=Today in History|publisher=Library of Congress (National Digital Library)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011093538/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct12.html|archive-date=October 11, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=October 19, 2012|df=mdy}} President Franklin Delano Roosevelt responded by making such a proclamation. This proclamation did not lead to the modern federal holiday; it was similar to language regarding Thomas Jefferson's birthday and Gold Star Mothers Day. In 1941, some 1,881 Italian Americans were interned and lost rights as "enemy aliens" because of a widely held belief that they would remain loyal to Italy, an Axis power, during World War II. Almost all of those interned were citizens of Italy, including Italian students and businessmen residing in the U.S.; the internment did not include the 690,000 Italians who had immigrated to the United States and millions of other Americans of Italian descent. On Columbus Day 1942, Franklin Roosevelt announced the removal of the designation of Italian Americans as "enemy aliens" along with a plan to offer citizenship to 200,000 elderly Italians living in the United States who had been unable to acquire citizenship due to a literacy requirement. However, the implementation of the announcement was not completed until those interned in camps were released following Italy's surrender to the Allies on September 8, 1943.{{cite web |last1=Lanni |first1=Robert |title=Why Columbus Day of 1942 is so Meaningful Today |url=https://www.italian-americans.com/christopher-columbus/why-columbus-day-of-1942-is-so-meaningful-today/ |website=Italian-Americans.com |date=October 12, 2020 |access-date=14 December 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Di Stasi |first1=Lawrence |title=Una Storia Segreta: The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment during World War II |date=2004 |publisher=Berkeley: Heyday Books |isbn=1-890771-40-6}}

In 1966, Mariano A. Lucca, from Buffalo, New York, founded the National Columbus Day Committee, which lobbied to make Columbus Day a federal holiday.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/02/obituaries/mariano-a-lucca-92-columbus-day-backer.html|title=Mariano A. Lucca, 92, Columbus Day Backer|date=1994-03-02|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} These efforts were successful and legislation to create Columbus Day as a federal holiday was signed by President Lyndon Johnson on June 28, 1968, to be effective beginning in 1971.{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/Federal_Holidays.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050223032801/http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/Federal_Holidays.pdf |archive-date=2005-02-23 |url-status=live|title=Federal holidays: evolution and application|last=Stephen|first=Stathis|date=1999|website=Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress}}{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41990.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103115217/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41990.pdf |archive-date=2014-01-03 |url-status=live|title=Federal Holidays: Evolution and Current Practices|last=Straus|first=Jacob R.|date=2014|website=Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress}}

Since 1971, when Columbus Day became an officially recognized federal holiday in the United States, it has been observed on the second Monday in October, as commemorated by annual Presidential proclamation noting Columbus' achievements.{{cite news |title=LBJ Signs Bill to Set Up Five 3-Day Holidays |agency=Associated Press |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=June 29, 1968 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9eYhAAAAIBAJ&pg=6061,7091289&dq=district+of+columbia&hl=en }} The bill in question became the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.{{Cite web |last=House |first=The White |date=2022-10-07 |title=A Proclamation on Columbus Day, 2022 |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/10/07/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2022/ |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=The White House |language=en-US}} It is generally observed 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, and some states and municipalities abstain from observing the holiday.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125512754947576887 |work=The Wall Street Journal |title=Is Columbus Day Sailing Off the Calendar? |first1=Conor |last1=Dougherty |first2=Sudeep |last2=Reddy |date=October 10, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821170554/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125512754947576887 | archive-date=August 21, 2017 |df=mdy-all }} The traditional date of the holiday also adjoins the anniversary of the United States Navy (founded October 13, 1775), and thus both occasions are customarily observed by the Navy and the Marine Corps with either a 72- or 96-hour liberty period.{{Citation|chapter=Sampson, Rear-Adm. William Thomas, (9 Feb. 1840–6 May 1902), United States Navy; Commander-in-Chief, US Naval Forces on North Atlantic Station, 1898–99|date=2007-12-01|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u190642|title=Who Was Who}}

The observance on the second Monday in October means it coincides with the Canadian holiday of Thanksgiving.

File:1892 DalandHouse ColumbusDay Salem Massachusetts byFrankCousins 2.png, in 1892]]

File:Columbus Day in New York City 2009 (4015483924).jpg

Actual observance varies in different parts of the United States, ranging from large-scale parades and events to complete nonobservance. Most states do not celebrate Columbus Day as an official state holiday.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/10/08/working-on-columbus-day-it-depends-on-where-you-live/|title=Working on Columbus Day? It depends on where you live|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-02}} Some mark it as a "Day of Observance" or "Recognition”. Most states that celebrate Columbus Day will close state services, while others operate as normal.{{Cite web|url=http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/columbus_day_2015_whats_closed.html|title=Columbus Day 2015: What's Closed, What's Open on Monday, Oct. 12?|last=Gore|first=Leada|date=October 12, 2015|website=al.com|publisher=Alabama Media Group|access-date=October 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007092036/http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/columbus_day_2015_whats_closed.html|archive-date=October 7, 2016|df=mdy-all}}

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,{{cite web |url=http://www.sfcolumbusday.org/parade/index.html |title=sfcolumbusday.org |publisher=sfcolumbusday.org |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926165959/http://www.sfcolumbusday.org/parade/index.html |archive-date=September 26, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} while New York City boasts the largest, with over 35,000 marchers and one million viewers around 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.columbuscitizensfd.org/cparade.shtml |title=Columbus Citizens Foundation |publisher=Columbuscitizensfd.org |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128094624/http://www.columbuscitizensfd.org/cparade.shtml |archive-date=January 28, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.manhattanstyle.com/events/the-annual-columbus-day-parade/ |title=Manhattan Style 'The Annual Columbus Day Parade' |publisher=Manhattanstyle.com |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121235540/http://www.manhattanstyle.com/events/the-annual-columbus-day-parade/ |archive-date=January 21, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/performers-bands-and-red-white-and-green-on-fifth-avenue-in-nyc-columbus-day-parade-104668504.html |title=PR Newswire 'Performers, Bands, and Red, White and Green on Fifth Avenue in NYC Columbus Day Parade' |location=New York |publisher=Prnewswire.com |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310224835/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/performers-bands-and-red-white-and-green-on-fifth-avenue-in-nyc-columbus-day-parade-104668504.html |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}

As in the mainland United States, 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".{{cite web |author=NextPage – LivePublish |url=http://www.michie.com/virginislands/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=vicode |title=Title 1 Virgin Islands Code Section 171 |publisher=Michie.com |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007013728/http://michie.com/virginislands/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=vicode |archive-date=October 7, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}

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.{{cite web |url=http://leg1.state.va.us/000/cod/2.2-3300.HTM |title=LIS > Code of Virginia > 2.2-3300 |publisher=Leg1.state.va.us |access-date=October 12, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116100245/http://leg1.state.va.us/000/cod/2.2-3300.HTM |archive-date=January 16, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}

Despite Columbus Day being a national holiday and a celebration of Italian heritage, the celebration of Columbus Day in the United States began to decline at the end of the 20th century, although Americans continue to celebrate it.{{Cite news |last=Delkic |first=Melina |date=2022-10-09 |title=Indigenous Peoples' Day, Explained |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/article/indigenous-peoples-day.html |access-date=2022-10-11 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cite news

|title=Across the US, more cities ditch Columbus Day to honor those who really discovered America

|first=Holly

|last=Yan

|newspaper=CNN

|date=October 8, 2018

|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/08/us/columbus-day-vs-indigenous-peoples-day/index.html}} The District of Columbia{{cite web|url= https://mayor.dc.gov/release/modified%E2%80%AFdistrict-government-services-indigenous-peoples’-day |title= Modified District Government Services for Indigenous Peoples' Day |access-date=December 8, 2023}} and the states of Colorado, Hawaii,{{cite web|url=https://columbusday2018.us/when-is-columbus-day/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731071831/https://columbusday2018.us/when-is-columbus-day/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 31, 2019 |title=Hawaii celebrates the discoverer's day that commemorates the Polynesian discovery |last1=James |first1=Taylor |access-date=August 8, 2018}}{{cite web |url=http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol01_Ch0001-0042F/HRS0008/HRS_0008-0001_0005.htm |publisher=Hawaii.gov |title=Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 8-1.5 |access-date=July 12, 2009}} Alaska,{{cite web |url=http://touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/Title44/Chapter12/Section010.htm |title=Alaska Statutes: AS 44.12.010. Legal Holidays |publisher=Touchngo.com |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930155354/http://touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/Title44/Chapter12/Section010.htm |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/40/187.html |title=Idea of Discoverers' Day Insults Native Americans |via=World History Archives |author=Mary Adamski |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=October 13, 1998 |access-date=May 12, 2019}} Vermont,{{cite web |url=http://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-ditches-columbus-day-for-indigenous-peoples-day/5068016|title=Vermont ditches Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples' Day|first=Brad|last=Evans |date=October 7, 2016 |work=mynbc5.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011211348/http://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-ditches-columbus-day-for-indigenous-peoples-day/5068016|archive-date=October 11, 2016|df=mdy-all}} South Dakota,{{cite web | url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2018/10/08/native-americans-day-columbus-day-national-holiday/1564271002/ |title=In South Dakota it's Native American Day |access-date=October 23, 2018}} New Mexico,{{cite web |url=https://www.apnews.com/04c5812f993a453c823abec465839ba0 |title=New Mexico scraps Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples' Day |website=Associated Press |date=April 3, 2019 |access-date=May 1, 2019}} Maine,{{cite web |last1=Ehrlich|first1=Jamie|title=Maine becomes the latest state to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/26/politics/maine-indigenous-peoples-day-columbus-day/index.html |website=CNN |date=April 27, 2019 |publisher=Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. |access-date=April 27, 2019}} Minnesota,{{cite web | url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/10/09/celebrations-of-indigenous-peoples-day-begin-throughout-minnesota | title=Celebrations of Indigenous Peoples Day across Minnesota | date=October 9, 2023 }} and parts of California, including, for example, Los Angeles County,{{cite web|title=What's Open (and Not) on Columbus Day?|url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/whats-open-on-columbus-day-562941761.html|author=Christian Leonard|date=12 October 2019|work=NBC Los Angeles}} do not recognize it and have each replaced it with celebrations of Indigenous Peoples' Day (in Hawaii, "Discoverers' Day", in South Dakota, "Native American Day") or other holidays. In the states of Delaware, Oregon and Washington, Columbus Day is not an official holiday.{{Cite web |url=https://www.oregon.gov/das/pages/calendar.aspx|title=State of Oregon: Department of Administrative Services – Calendar|website=www.oregon.gov|language=en|access-date=November 28, 2018}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.doh.wa.gov/AboutUs/ContactUs/StateHolidays|title=State Holidays – Washington State Department of Health|website=www.doh.wa.gov|language=en|access-date=October 14, 2019}}

Iowa and Nevada do not celebrate Columbus Day as an official holiday, but the states' respective governors are "authorized and requested" by statute to proclaim the day each year.See:

• Iowa proclamation: {{cite web |url=http://search.legis.state.ia.us/nxt/gateway.dll/ic/1/13/14/15/41/46?f=templates&fn=default.htm |title=1C.5 Columbus Day |publisher=Iowa Legislature |work=Iowa Code |year=2011 |access-date=October 8, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127005147/http://search.legis.state.ia.us/nxt/gateway.dll/ic/1/13/14/15/41/46?f=templates&fn=default.htm |archive-date=January 27, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}
• Nevada proclamation: [http://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-236.html Nevada Revised Statues Chapter 236] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015042145/http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-236.html |date=October 15, 2011}}, section 236.025 "Columbus Day" Several states have removed the day as a paid holiday for state government workers, while maintaining it either as a day of recognition, or as a legal holiday for other purposes, including California and Texas.{{cite web |url=http://law.onecle.com/california/government/6700.html |title=California Government Code, Section 6700 |access-date=January 19, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929011658/http://law.onecle.com/california/government/6700.html |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/02/04/83672/schwarzeneggers-dropping-two-state.html |title=Schwarzenegger's Dropping Two State Holidays is Legal, California judge rules |publisher=Mcclatchydc.com |newspaper=The Sacramento Bee |date=February 4, 2010 |access-date=October 8, 2012 |last=Ortiz |first=Joe |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913072427/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/02/04/83672/schwarzeneggers-dropping-two-state.html |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/txstatutes/GV/6/B/662/C/662.044|title=Texas Government Code § 662.044. Columbus Day |access-date=October 12, 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/columbus-day |title=Columbus Day in the United States|website=www.timeanddate.com|access-date=April 29, 2018 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909151545/https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/columbus-day |archive-date=September 9, 2017 |df=mdy-all}}{{Excessive citations inline|date=October 2021}}

The practice of U.S. cities eschewing Columbus Day to celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day began in 1992 with Berkeley, California. The list of cities that have followed suit as of 2018 includes Austin, Boise, Cincinnati, Denver, Los Angeles, Mankato, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle, Saint Paul, Phoenix, Tacoma, and "dozens of others".{{cite news|title=Goodbye, Columbus: holiday in decline as brutal legacy re-evaluated |first=Luke |last=O'Neil |date=October 8, 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/08/columbus-day-2018-decline-holiday-donald-trump-proclamation}}{{cite news |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jan-13-me-bones13-story.html |date=January 13, 2008 |title=UC Berkeley's bones of contention |first=Richard C. |last=Paddock |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110707010813/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jan/13/local/me-bones13 |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}{{Cite web |url=http://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/austin/news/2017/10/06/austin-city-council-renames-columbus-day-to-indigenous-people-s-day |title=Austin City Council renames Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day|access-date=2017-10-12|df=mdy-all}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-columbus-day-los-angeles-city-council-201700903-story.html|title=What Christopher Columbus achieved was momentous. He deserves a holiday.|date=September 3, 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=October 12, 2017 |language=en-US|issn=0458-3035|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012055956/http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-columbus-day-los-angeles-city-council-201700903-story.html|archive-date=October 12, 2017|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125512754947576887 |title=Is Columbus Day Sailing Off the Calendar? |work=Wall Street Journal |date=October 10, 2009 |access-date=October 8, 2012 |first1=Conor |first2=Sudeep |last1=Dougherty |last2=Reddy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106155050/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125512754947576887 | archive-date=January 6, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}{{Cite web|url=http://rwinters.com/council/060616.htm#R5|title=Cambridge City Council Meeting – June 6, 2016 Agenda|website=rwinters.com |access-date=June 8, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613065518/http://rwinters.com/council/060616.htm#R5|archive-date=June 13, 2016|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |url=http://badgerherald.com/news/2007/10/09/uw_group_offers_alte.php |title=News: UW Group Offers Alternative to Columbus |date=October 9, 2007 |publisher=The Badger Herald |access-date=October 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110707010813/http://badgerherald.com/news/2007/10/09/uw_group_offers_alte.php |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|last=Sattin|first=Brad|title=Mpls. City Council Passes Indigenous Peoples Day Resolution|url=http://kstp.com/news/stories/s3413212.shtml|publisher=KSTP/ABC-5 Eyewitness News|access-date=October 8, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010042916/http://kstp.com/news/stories/s3413212.shtml|archive-date=October 10, 2014|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web |url=http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/seattle-city-council-vote-columbus-day-name-change/nhckd/ |title=Columbus Day in Seattle no Longer: Now Indigenous Peoples' Day |access-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009052511/http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/seattle-city-council-vote-columbus-day-name-change/nhckd/ |archive-date=October 9, 2014 |df=mdy-all |date=October 6, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/columbus-day-indigenous-peoples-day-vermont-phoenix/|title=Columbus Day changed to Indigenous People's Day in Vermont and city of Phoenix|work=cbsnews.com|date=October 10, 2016 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011124611/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/columbus-day-indigenous-peoples-day-vermont-phoenix/|archive-date=October 11, 2016|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://fox13now.com/2017/10/03/columbus-day-changed-to-indigenous-peoples-day-in-salt-lake-city/|title=Columbus Day designated as Indigenous Peoples Day in Salt Lake City|date=October 4, 2017 |website=fox13now.com |access-date=April 29, 2018 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315041123/http://fox13now.com/2017/10/03/columbus-day-changed-to-indigenous-peoples-day-in-salt-lake-city/ |archive-date=March 15, 2018|df=mdy-all}}

Columbus, Ohio, has chosen to honor veterans instead of Christopher Columbus, and removed Columbus Day as a city holiday in 2018. Various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day as Native American Day, or name it after their own tribe.{{cite news |newspaper=Tulsa World |url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081013_11_A1_hAmeri589341 |title=Holiday Not Celebrated by Tribes: American Indians See Columbus Day As a Reminder of Harsh Treatment Ages Ago |first=Clifton |last=Adcock |date=October 13, 2008 |access-date=October 10, 2010 |archive-date=October 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008115608/http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081013_11_A1_hAmeri589341 |url-status=dead }}

In 2017, the city council of Akron, Ohio, became split along racial lines with the decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day, creating pushback from the city's Italian-American community. In 2018, a compromise was reached, with the city council voting to name the first Monday of October as North American First People's Day while keeping Columbus Day, and in 2020, Columbus Day was renamed Italian-American Heritage and Culture Day.{{Cite web|title=Akron leaders revisit the renaming of Columbus Day with community input and newfound empathy|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/akron-leaders-revisit-the-renaming-of-columbus-day-with-community-input-and-newfound-empathy/ar-BB15Tcnz|access-date=2020-10-24|website=www.msn.com}}{{Cite web|date=2020-09-28|title=After years of debate, Akron will not celebrate Columbus Day this fall|url=https://thedevilstrip.com/2020/09/28/after-years-of-debate-akron-will-not-celebrate-columbus-day-this-fall/|access-date=2020-10-24|website=The Devil Strip |language=en-US}}

File:Monumento_a_Colón_Paseo_de_la_Reforma_Ciudad_de_México.jpg along Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico]]

The date Columbus arrived in the Americas is celebrated in some countries of Latin America. The most common name for the celebration in Spanish (including some Latin American communities{{cite web | url = http://progressiveaustin.org/calendar/2006/10/11/3rd-annual-dia-de-la-raza-celebration/ | title = 3rd Annual Dia de la Raza Celebration | access-date = September 13, 2011 | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120415023108/http://progressiveaustin.org/calendar/2006/10/11/3rd-annual-dia-de-la-raza-celebration/ | archive-date = April 15, 2012 | df = mdy-all }} in the United States) is the Día de la Raza ("day of the race" or the "day of the [Hispanic] people"), commemorating the first encounters of Europeans and the Native Americans. The day was first celebrated in Argentina in 1917, in Venezuela and Colombia in 1921, in Chile in 1922, and in Mexico, it was first celebrated in 1928. The day was also celebrated under this title in Spain until 1957, when it was changed to the Día de la Hispanidad ("Hispanicity Day"), and in Venezuela, it was celebrated under this title until 2002, when it was changed to the Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance). Originally conceived of as a celebration of Hispanic influence in the Americas, as evidenced by the complementary celebrations in Spain and Latin America, Día de la Raza has come to be seen by nationalist activists throughout Latin America as a counter to Columbus Day – a celebration of the native races and cultures and their resistance to the arrival of Europeans in the Americas.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

In the United States, Día de la Raza has served as a time of mobilization for panethnic Latino activists, particularly since the 1960s. Since then, La Raza has served as a periodic rallying cry for Hispanic activists. The first Hispanic March on Washington occurred on Columbus Day in 1996. The name was used by the largest Hispanic social justice organization in the nation, UnidosUS, which was known as the National Council of La Raza from 1968 to 2017.

On October 10, 1992, Pope John Paul II visited the Dominican Republic to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas and the arrival of Christianity in the "New World". His visit ended with a mass in the nation's cathedral, the first cathedral in the Western Hemisphere.{{Cite news|last=French|first=Howard|date=1992-10-10|title=Pope Arrives in Dominican Republic|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/10/world/pope-arrives-in-dominican-republic.html|access-date=2022-01-27|issn=0362-4331}}

File:Buenos_Aires_-_Monserrat_-_Plaza_de_Mayo_en_Día_de_la_Raza.jpg

File:Biblioteca del Senado de la Provincia - 52 - Por una raza fuerte, laboriosa, pacifista y soberana.jpg

The Day of the Race was established in Argentina in 1916 by a decree of President Hipólito Yrigoyen. The name was changed to "Day of Respect of Cultural Diversity" by a presidential decree in 2010 issued by President Cristina Kirchner.{{Cite web |last=Gonzáles |first=Gabriel Esteban |date=12 October 2022 |title=Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural: una reivindicación que demoró cinco siglos |url=https://www.telam.com.ar/notas/202210/607493-12-octubre-dia-respeto-diversidad-cultural.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013074128/https://www.telam.com.ar/notas/202210/607493-12-octubre-dia-respeto-diversidad-cultural.html |archive-date=13 October 2022 |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=Télam |language=es-Ar}} The statue of Columbus was removed from its original position near the Casa Rosada and replaced by one of Juana Azurduy, a patriot and leader in the struggle for independence who had indigenous ancestors.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

Colombia, whose name originated from Columbus himself, celebrates El día de la Raza y de la Hispanidad (meaning "Day of the Race and Hispanicity"), and is taken as an opportunity to celebrate the encounter of "the two worlds" and to reflect on the richness that the racial diversity has brought to the culture. In 2021 the Ministry of Culture changed the name of the holiday to ‘Día de la Diversidad Étnica y Cultural de la Nación Colombiana (meaning "Day of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity of the Colombian nation").{{Cite web |title=El Metro de Medellín y el Ministerio de Cultura se unen para la conmemoración del Día de la Diversidad Étnica y Cultural de la Nación Colombiana |url=https://www.mincultura.gov.co/prensa/noticias/Paginas/el-metro-de-medellin-y-el-ministerio-de-cultura-se-unen-para-la-conmemoracion-del-dia-de-la-diversidad-etnica-y-cultural-de.aspx#:~:text=El%20Ministerio%20de%20Cultura,%20Ministerio,de%20la%20Raza%E2%80%9D%20como%20un |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=www.mincultura.gov.co}}

In Peru, it was known as Día del descubrimiento de América ("Day of the discovery of America"). Since 2009, it has been celebrated as Día de los pueblos originarios y el diálogo intercultural (Indigenous Peoples and Intercultural Dialogue Day).{{cite web |title=12 de Octubre: Día de los pueblos originarios y el diálogo intercultural |work=Lima COP20 | CMP 10 |url=http://cop20.minam.gob.pe/26327/12-de-octubre-dia-de-los-pueblos-originarios-y-el-dialogo-intercultural/ |publisher=Lima COP20 |access-date=29 December 2019}}

Between 1921 and 2002, Venezuela celebrated Día de la Raza along with many other Latin American nations. The original holiday was officially established in 1921 under President Juan Vicente Gómez. In 2002, under President Hugo Chávez, the holiday was changed to Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) to commemorate the Indigenous peoples' resistance to European settlement.

On October 12, 2004, a crowd of progovernment activists toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus by Rafael de la Cova in Caracas. The activists also sprayed allusive graffiti over its pedestal. The walk where the statue had stood was renamed in 2008 "Indigenous Resistance Walk". Later, a statue of an indigenous leader, Guaicaipuro, was erected on the plinth.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-37625519 |publisher= BBC Mundo |access-date= April 15, 2019 |title= ¿Dónde está la estatua de Cristóbal Colón que fue juzgada, condenada y colgada el 12 de octubre de 2004 en Caracas? |language= es |author= García Marco, Daniel |date= October 12, 2016}}

On September 21, 1994, Costa Rica changed the official holiday from Día de la Raza to Día del Encuentro de las Culturas (Day of the Encounter of Cultures) to recognize the mix of European, Native American (autochthonous populations), African and Asian cultures that constitute modern Costa Rican (and Latin American) culture and ethnicity. In accordance to the Costa Rican labor law, the holiday is observed on October 12. Should this date coincide with a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, the employer shall agree that said holiday be postponed to the following Monday.{{cite web |url=http://www.mep.go.cr/CentroDeInformacion/DOC/14%20Ley%20del%20D%C3%ADa%20de%20las%20Culturas-303200985619.pdf |title=Ley del Día de las Culturas |language=es |publisher=Mep.go.cr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415083322/http://www.mep.go.cr/CentroDeInformacion/DOC/14%20Ley%20del%20D%C3%ADa%20de%20las%20Culturas-303200985619.pdf |archive-date=April 15, 2012 |df=mdy-all }} In 2020, Costa Ricans eliminated this holiday, which was under debate in years prior. Hence, in exchange Costa Rica now celebrates the 'Military Abolition Day' on December 1.{{Cite web |title=Costa Rican president backs holiday for army abolition – DW – 11/28/2018 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/costa-rican-president-backs-holiday-for-army-abolition/a-46480144 |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=dw.com |language=en}}

In June 1915, the official holiday of 'Fiesta de la Raza' was established, with October 12 being the date of the national holiday. Presently, since October 12, 2021, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador abolished the previous national Fiesta de la Raza holiday, " [to] vindicate the origin and identity of indigenous peoples who were forgotten by previous governments, who for decades celebrated Race Day as a positive event and who never adopted mechanisms to enhance human rights".{{Cite web |last=Legislative Assembly |first=Press |date=October 13, 2021 |title=Asamblea Legislativa suprime "Fiesta de la Raza", por considerar que lesiona la dignidad de los pueblos originarios |trans-title=Legislative Assembly ends "Fiesta de la Raza", considering that it harms the dignity of the native peoples |url=https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11672 |access-date=April 29, 2023 |website=Asamblea Legislativa |language=Spanish}} The holiday is no longer celebrated officially.

In Mexico, the date was known as Columbus Day or Day of the Race. On December 18, 2020, by decree of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the name of October 12 was changed to "Day of the Pluricultural Nation".{{Cite web |date=2020-11-20 |title=October 12 will now be the "Day of the Pluricultural Nation" in Mexico |url=https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2020/11/october-12-will-now-be-the-day-of-the-pluricultural-nation-in-mexico/ |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=The Yucatan Times |language=en-US |last1=Times |first1=Yucatan }}{{Cite web |date=December 18, 2020 |title=Decreto por el que se declara el día 12 de octubre de cada año, como el "Día de la Nación Pluricultural". |url=https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5608175&fecha=18/12/2020 |access-date=June 10, 2023 |website=www.dof.gob.mx}} The statue of Columbus along Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma was removed and replaced with a replica of The Young Woman of Amajac, a sculpture depicting an Indigenous woman.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-10-12 |title=Mexico promotes indigenous people as it erases memory of Columbus |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211012-mexico-promotes-indigenous-people-as-it-erases-memory-of-columbus |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=France 24 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Pietroni |first=David Guido |date=2021-10-13 |title=Pre-Hispanic Indigenous Sculpture Will Replace Columbus Statue in Mexico City |url=https://www.art-insider.com/pre-hispanic-indigenous-sculpture-will-replace-columbus-statue-in-mexico-city/2946 |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=Art Insider |language=en-CA}}

Only a handful of Caribbean countries observe holidays related to Columbus Day. In Belize, October 12 is observed as Indigenous Peoples' Resistance Day. Formerly known as Pan American Day, the name was changed in 2021 to move away from its colonial legacy.{{Cite web |title=Belize to Commemorate Indigenous People’s Resistance Day, Honoring Indigenous Contributions |url=https://lovefm.com/belize-to-commemorate-indigenous-peoples-resistance-day-honoring-indigenous-contributions/#:~:text=This%20is%20not%20only%20vital,Day,%20and%20its%20colonial%20legacy. |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Love FM Belize News & Music Power |language=en-US}} In the Bahamas, it was formerly known as Discovery Day, until 2001 when it was replaced by National Heroes Day. In 1937, Cuban President Federico Laredo Brú (1936–1940) spoke to the nation and countries of America in Cuba on October 12 commemorating Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. Federico Laredo Brú spoke about Columbus's impact on the land and the future of its settlement. He ended his speech with venerating Christopher Columbus's efforts to colonize and establish settlements along the new front and the pride of one's nation. He added "Por mi raza hablo mi espiritu," which translates to "For my race my spirit called," to support the political infrastructure at the time.{{Cite book|title=Dia de la Raza|last=Laredo Bru|first=Federico|publisher=Sociedad Colombiana Panamericana|year=1937|location=Cuba|pages=14–16}}

File:Santo Domingo.El Faro a Colón.20170402.jpg in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic]]

In December 1937, Cuban president Federico Laredo Brú and Dominican Republic president Rafael Trujillo ordered a crew of aviators to travel through Latin America collecting funds from large capital cities for a monumental light house in the Dominican Republic. The exploration Escuadrilla Binacional Pro Faro de Colón was inspired by Columbus's journey across the North Atlantic Ocean to America. The expedition consisted of three Stinson Reliant SR-9s borrowed from the Cuban Air Force – named Santa María, Niña and Pinta after the vessels commanded by Columbus – and a Curtiss Wright CW-19R from the Dominican military aviation named Colon after Columbus. On December 15, after visiting a majority of South America, their flight to the Peruvian capital Lima was hampered by an unexpected sandstorm. Two planes (Colon and La Pinta) were forced to land in Pisco and Niña disappeared in the storm. The Santa Maria was the only plane to reach Lima as planned, landing at Las Palmas on the day of the storm. After extensive searches, Niña radioed their whereabouts after their radio was damaged in the storm. The aircraft restrategized in Las Palmas, and on December 29 their expedition took off from El Techo airport in Bogotá en route to El Guabito airport in Cali. Later that day, the crew flew into an unexpected storm over the Valley of Cauca. With minimal visibility and poor navigation, Niña, La Pinta, and Santa Maria crashed into high mountains, while Colon, unaware of the other aircraft, flew over the storm and safely made it to Panama City. The plane is preserved today as remembrance of the bravery of the crew and Christopher Columbus's journey.{{Cite web|url=https://alasandinas.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/escuadrilla-pro-faro-de-colon-in-peru-english/|title=Escuadrilla Pro Faro de Colón in Peru (English)|date=June 6, 2018 |website=Alas Andinas|language=es-ES|access-date=December 8, 2018}}

In 1992, in remembrance of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, the Columbus Lighthouse, in Santo Domingo Este was inaugurated. The monument is both a mausoleum and a museum showcasing objects including a boat from Cuba and Colombian jewelry. Constructed of concrete, the monument is {{convert|680|ft|m}} long.{{Citation

| last = Jacobs

| first = Karrie

| title = World's Strangest Buildings

| newspaper = Travel + Leisure

| date = April 2010

| url = http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-strangest-buildings/6

| access-date = 2010-04-25}}

Its architecture is cross-shaped and represents the Christianization of the Americas. According to Dominican authorities, Columbus' remains are sheltered at the lighthouse. Spanish authorities proved through DNA tests that remains in the Cathedral of Seville were his and Dominican authorities have not allowed the same, so whether the sets are related remains unknown.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121107-the-mystery-of-christopher-columbuss-legacy|title=The mystery of Christopher Columbus's legacy|last=Sood|first=Suemedha|date=November 9, 2012 |language=en|access-date=2018-09-19}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/01/19/dna-testing-of-skeleton-may-prove-christopher-columbus-was-really-portuguese/#7f9f5075c829|title=DNA Testing Of Skeleton May Prove Christopher Columbus Was Really Portuguese|last=Killgrove|first=Kristina|work=Forbes|access-date=2018-09-19|language=en}}

{{Multiple image

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| caption1 = Monument to Christopher Columbus in Genoa, Italy

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File:Cristoforo Colombo Italian Royal Navy ship.jpg]]

Since the 18th century, many Italian communities in the Americas have observed the Discovery of the New World as a celebration of their heritage, since Columbus was born in Republic of Genoa, nowadays Italy.Charles Speroni, "The Development of the Columbus Day Pageant of San Francisco," Western Folklore, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Oct. 1948), pp. 325–335. U.S. State Department, Bureau of International Information Programs. In Italy, Columbus Day has been officially celebrated since 2004. It is officially named Giornata nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo ("National Christopher Columbus Day").

The Christopher Columbus House in Genoa, Italy, is an 18th-century reconstruction of the house in which Christopher Columbus grew up.{{cite book|last1=Poleggi|first1=E.|last2=Croce|first2=I.|title=Ritratto di Genova nel '400. Veduta d'invenzione. Ediz. italiana e inglese|publisher=SAGEP|year=2020|isbn=978-88-6373-704-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1GVzQEACAAJ|language=it|access-date=2022-08-26}} The house is located outside Genoa's 14th-century walls. During the Renaissance, the area became subject to intense building, mainly consisting of public housing.{{cite book|last=Beneš|first=C.E.|title=A Companion to Medieval Genoa|publisher=Brill|series=Brill's Companions to European History|year=2018|isbn=978-90-04-36061-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHtTDwAAQBAJ|access-date=2022-08-26}} Columbus was born in 1451, and historical documents indicated that Columbus lived here between approximately 1455 and 1470. At this time, the house had two or maybe three stories, with a shop on the ground floor, and the front door to the left of the shop.

The "Lega Navale Italiana" has created a Regata di Colombo ("Columbus Regatta") as a celebration of the Columbus achievement.{{cite web|url=http://www.leganavale.it/wps/portal/lni/sezioni/savona/home/notizie/regata_di_colombo_2014_aias/!ut/p/a0/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfGjzOID_N0NPIydDbzcw_zNDRz9XR2dTT18jQK9DfULsh0VAfH-Cug!/|title=Regata della "Giornata Nazionale di Cristoforo Colombo"|work=Lega Navale Italiana|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414223531/http://www.leganavale.it/wps/portal/lni/sezioni/savona/home/notizie/regata_di_colombo_2014_aias/!ut/p/a0/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfGjzOID_N0NPIydDbzcw_zNDRz9XR2dTT18jQK9DfULsh0VAfH-Cug!/|archive-date=April 14, 2015|df=mdy-all}} Italians have celebrated Christopher Columbus ({{langx|it|Cristoforo Colombo}} {{IPA|it|kriˈstɔːforo koˈlombo|}}) naming after him many civilian and military ships, like the training ship SS Cristoforo Colombo and the ocean liner SS Cristoforo Colombo.

{{See also|National Day of Spain}}

File:Statue of Christopher Columbus in Barcelona (8841818063).jpg

The first celebration of the Discovery of the Américas by Columbus in Spain was as early as 1642 when the city of Zaragoza designated the Virgen del Pilar (Our Lady of the Pillar) as symbol of the Hispanidad (Hispanicity) on the date of the Spanish expedition's arrival to the New World.{{Cite journal|journal=Revista de historia Jerónimo Zurita|volume=72|pages=91–102|issn=0044-5517|title=La Reina de la Hispanidad: Fascismo y Nacionalcatolicismo en Zaragoza. 1939–1945|year=1997|first=Ángela|last=Cenarro|url=http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/16/10/4cenarro.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220174039/http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/16/10/4cenarro.pdf |archive-date=2009-12-20 |url-status=live|publisher=Institución Fernando el Católico}} This holiday was declared a religious feast day throughout the Spanish Empire in 1730.David Marcilhacy « América como factor de regeneración y cohesión para una España plural: “la Raza” y el 12 de octubre, cimientos de una identidad compuesta », Hispania (Madrid), vol. LXXIII, no. 244 (mayo-ag. 2013), pp. 501–524

In 1892, the 12 of October was declared a one-time national day in commemoration of the 4th centenary of the Discovery of America and the perpetuation of the festivity was then first considered. The Spanish government suggested other nations (Hispanic American countries, Italy and the United States of America) to join the celebration, which was followed with enthusiasm by them, with a few exceptions.David MARCILHACY « Las fiestas del 12 de octubre y las conmemoraciones americanistas bajo la Restauración borbónica: España ante su pasado colonial », Revista de Historia Jerónimo Zurita (Zaragoza), n°86 (2011), pp. 131–147

The Discovery of America and the Hispanicity has been celebrated as a national day since 1918 under different names like "Día de la Hispanidad" or "Dia de la Raza", due to changes of political regimes in the 20th century. The national day emphasises Spain's ties with the Hispanidad, the international Hispanic community and Spanish legacy to the world.{{cite book |title= Constitutional Law of 15 EU Member States|last= Prakke|first= L.|author2=C. A. J. M. Kortmann |author3=J. C. E. van den Brandhof |year= 2004|publisher= Kluwer|isbn= 978-90-13-01255-2|page= 748 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oGj0PS8C5akC&pg=PA748}} In 1981 a royal decree established the Fiesta Nacional y Día de la Hispanidad as a national holiday. In 1987 the name was changed again to Fiesta Nacional and October 12 became one of two national celebrations, along with Constitution Day on December 6, as part of a compromise between conservatives, who wanted to emphasize the status of the monarchy and Spain's history, and Republicans, who wanted to commemorate Spain's burgeoning democracy with an official holiday.{{cite book |last1= Molina A. de Cienfuegos |first1= Ignacio|last2= Martínez Bárcena|first2= Jorge|editor-last= Fuller |editor-first= Linda K.|year=2004 |chapter= Spain: National Days throughout the History and the Geography of Spain|title= National Days/National Ways: Historical, Political, and Religious Celebrations around the World |isbn= 978-0-275-97270-7 |page=253 |publisher= Greenwood Publishing|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=llmCOvtWcUcC&pg=PA253}} The holiday is widely celebrated in Spain with official and cultural events throughout the country. Shops and businesses are closed as with other bank holidays. The observation is enhanced with the feast day of Our Lady of the Pillar (Fiestas del Pilar), the so-called Mother of Hispanidad, and of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Extremadura (Santa María de Guadalupe) (appointed Queen of Hispanicity in 1928 by the Vatican) from Guadalupe, Caceres, whose Monastery was the venue in June 1492 for the decisive meeting between the Catholic Monarchs and Columbus to start organizing the travel and where the latter came back in 1493, right after returning from his first voyage, to thank Her for his success.

{{see also|Monument and memorial controversies in the United States#Christopher Columbus (2017)|Monument and memorial controversies in the United States#Murals of Columbus (2019)}}

File:Christopher Columbus' Soldiers Chop the Hands off of Arawak Indians who Failed to Meet the Mining Quota.jpg, depicting the account by Bartolomé de las Casas of the Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias, 1552.]]

For years after the first Columbus Day celebration in 1892, opposition to Columbus Day recognized the suffering inflicted on American Indians with westward expansion.{{cite web | url=https://today.ku.edu/2022/09/21/controversy-over-columbus-old-news-scholar-shows | title=Questioning Columbus | date=September 14, 2022 }}

It also originated from anti-immigrant nativist Know Nothing political movement, who sought to eliminate its celebration because of its association with immigrants from the Catholic countries of Ireland and Italy, and the American Catholic fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus. Some anti-Catholics, notably including the Ku Klux Klan and the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, opposed celebrations of Columbus or monuments about him because they thought that it increased Catholic influence in the United States, which was largely a Protestant country.{{cite book|title=Cultural movements and collective memory: Christopher Columbus and the rewriting of the national origin myth|last1=Kubap|first1=Timothy|publisher=Macmillan|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4039-7577-5|pages=33–38}}

In the summer of 1990, 350 representatives from American Indian groups from all over the hemisphere met in Quito, Ecuador, at the first Intercontinental Gathering of Indigenous People in the Americas, to mobilize against the 500th anniversary (quin-centennial) celebration of Columbus Day planned for 1992. The following summer, in Davis, California, more than a hundred Native Americans gathered for a follow-up meeting to the Quito conference. They declared October 12, 1992, to be "International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People".A Faithful Response to the 500th Anniversary of the Arrival of Christopher Columbus in A Resolution of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, para. 1.

More recently, mainly since the 1990s, more people oppose Columbus's and other Europeans' actions against the indigenous populations of the Americas. This opposition was initially led by Native Americans and was expanded upon by left-wing political parties.{{cite web | url=http://www.liberalamerica.org/2013/10/12/still-celebrate-columbus-day/ | title=Why Do We Still Celebrate Columbus Day? | publisher=Liberal America | access-date=28 September 2016 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001191700/http://www.liberalamerica.org/2013/10/12/still-celebrate-columbus-day/ | archive-date=October 1, 2016 | df=mdy-all | date=2013-10-12 }}{{cite web | url=http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/columbus-oct00.html | title=Indigenous People's Opposition to Celebration and Glorification of Colonial Pirate Christopher Columbus | access-date=October 7, 2012 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005011842/http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/columbus-oct00.html | archive-date=October 5, 2012 | df=mdy-all }}{{cite web | url=http://www.history.com/topics/columbus-day | title=History.com: Columbus Day Alternatives | date=January 4, 2010 | access-date=October 7, 2012 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930104848/http://www.history.com/topics/columbus-day | archive-date=September 30, 2012 | df=mdy-all }} Various holidays commemorating Columbus have now been abolished, with various Latin American countries altering the holidays to now recognise indigenous populations.

[[File:IMAGE0022.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Statueless plinth in Caracas in 2006.

A statue of Christopher Columbus, which formerly occupied the plinth, was knocked down by activists in 2004.{{cite news |publisher=Iblnews.com |date=October 13, 2004 |url=http://iblnews.com/noticias/10/117331.html |title=Derriban la Estatua de Cristóbal Colón en Caracas |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414185843/http://iblnews.com/noticias/10/117331.html |archive-date=April 14, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}]]

There are many interrelated strands of criticism. One refers primarily to the treatment of the indigenous populations during the European colonization of the Americas, which followed Columbus's discovery. Some groups, such as the American Indian Movement, have argued that the ongoing actions and injustices against Native Americans are masked by Columbus myths and celebrations.Blackfoot Physics: A Journey into the Native American Universe, by F. David Peat, Weiser, 2005, {{ISBN|1-57863-371-0}}, p. 310 American anthropologist Jack Weatherford says that on Columbus Day, Americans celebrate the greatest waves of genocide of the American Indians known in history.{{cite web|last1=Weatherford|first1=Jack|title=Examining the Reputation of Christopher Columbus|url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/Taino/docs/columbus.html|website=hartford-hwp.com|publisher=Baltimore Evening Sun, reprinted by Clergy and Laity Concerned|access-date=7 October 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020221801/http://www.hartford-hwp.com/Taino/docs/columbus.html|archive-date=October 20, 2016|df=mdy-all}}

A second strain of criticism of Columbus Day focuses on the character of Columbus himself. In time for the 2004 observation of the day, the final volume of a compendium of Columbus-era documents was published by the University of California, Los Angeles' Medieval and Renaissance Center. It stated that Columbus, while a brilliant mariner, exploited and enslaved the indigenous population.{{cite web|title='Repertorium Columbianum' Makes Landfall|author=Meg Sullivan|date=October 6, 2004|url=http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6664|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116163703/http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6664|archive-date=2013-01-16}}

Spelman College historian Howard Zinn described some of the details in his book, A People's History of the United States, of how Columbus personally ordered the enslavement and mutilation of the native Arawak people in a bid to repay his investors.{{cite web|title=A People's History of the United States|last=Zinn|first=Howard|date=1980|url=http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinncol1.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903104652/http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/zinncol1.html|archive-date=September 3, 2014|df=mdy-all}}

Journalist and media critic Norman Solomon reflects, in Columbus Day: A Clash of Myth and History, that many people choose to hold on to the myths instead of reality in the events surrounding Columbus. He disputes the idea that the Spaniards' arrival was beneficial towards the Indians by quoting History of the Indies by the Catholic priest Bartolomé de las Casas, who observed the region where Columbus was governor. Las Casas writes that the Spaniards were driven by "insatiable greed" as they killed and tortured native populations with "the strangest and most varied new methods of cruelty" and laments that "my eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature, and now I tremble as I write".{{cite web|title=Columbus Day: A Clash of Myth and History |work=Media Beat |last=Solomon |first=Norman |date = October 1995 |url=http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/4621/columbusday.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020025030/http://geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/4621/columbusday.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 20, 2009}}

{{Portal|Holidays|Italy|Spain|Latin America}}

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• Age of Discovery
• Spanish Empire
• Indigenous Peoples' Day
• L'Anse aux Meadows
• Leif Erikson Day
• List of monuments and memorials to Christopher Columbus
• No one is illegal
• UN Spanish Language Day
• World's Columbian Exposition

{{div col end}}

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.ipdpowwow.org/ Berkeley's Indigenous Peoples Day] – History of the annual celebration, pow wow and Native American market
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121018205412/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct12.html Today in History: October 12]}} – An article about Columbus Day at the Library of Congress
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051230133257/http://www.transformcolumbusday.org/ Transform Columbus Day Alliance]}} – Denver-based organization with background on opposition to Columbus Day

{{US Federal Holidays}}

{{U.S. Holidays}}

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Category:Public holidays in the United States

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Category:Native American-related controversies

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