Columbus Day is one of the most controversial American holidays. It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt who declared the 12th of October each year to be a holiday and the day would be observed as Columbus Day. Today, Columbus Day is observed on the second Monday of October. It is a federal government holiday which implies all federal offices are closed. However, all the states do not grant a day off from work.

The controversy that encircles the Columbus Day

Though most of us are acquainted with the term ‘Indigenous People’s Day’, why it is termed so is unknown to many. Supporters of native Americans and the anti-immigrant groups have often protested the celebration of Columbus Day! This is because, the arrival of Christopher Columbus on the island of Bahamas on October 12th, 1492, marked the beginning of an era of colonization and the 'transatlantic slave trade'!

Columbus along with his crew of 90 men forced the native people into slavery and is even known to have imposed barbaric forms of torture on them. This has been the primary cause behind many governments replacing Columbus Day with alternative commemorations. Officially speaking, the states of Hawaii, Alaska, South Dakota, Denver, Los Angeles have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day.

Columbus Day celebrations

Some parts of America celebrate Columbus Day to uphold Italian American heritage. Italian food in the street food stalls, parades, people moving up and down in colorful costumes, music, etc. dot the roads of America on the 2nd Monday of October each year.

Different states across the US celebrate the day in their unique way. The Indigenous People's Day celebration was first adopted by the city of Berkley, California. Later it was adopted by other cities like Minnesota, Alaska, Oregon, Seattle, Los Angeles, and so on.

Hawaii, on the other hand, celebrates the second Monday of October as the ‘Discoverer’s Day’ and South Dakota celebrates it as the Native American’s Day. Many believe that Columbus was neither the first person nor the First European to discover America. The natives had been dwelling in America ages before Columbus had arrived. The latter came and took these natives as captives to fuel the slave trade which marked the dark era of American colonization!

Columbus Day: Reasons to celebrate

Not only did the enslavement of the native people inflict the race but they also contracted unknown diseases such as smallpox! While, by many accounts, it may seem that Columbus Day is not a day of celebration, though there are good enough reasons to commemorate the spirit of exploration!

The advent of Christopher Columbus helped outline the world atlas much in the shape that is familiar to us today. It marked the beginning of –

  1. The Columbian Exchange – Trading of goods introduced new foods such as tomato and spices like chili pepper from America to the rest of the world.
  2. Besides the slave trade, horses were introduced as a popular mode of transportation to the Americans, which eventually became an integral part of American culture!

Although historians often come up with conflicting thoughts, however, Americans do make the most of the long weekend from barbeque party at the backyard to attending special prayer service!  As Ronald Reagan once said in a 1988 speech, Columbus Day has become a day “to celebrate not only an intrepid searcher but the dreams and opportunities that brought so many here after him.”