Columbus Day honors Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to America in 1492. It is celebrated in the United States on the second Monday in October. Cities and organizations sponsor parades and banquets on Columbus Day.
The first Columbus Day celebration was held in 1792. That year, New York City celebrated the 300th anniversary of Columbus’s landing on a Caribbean island on October 12, 1492. In 1892, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison called upon Americans to celebrate Columbus Day on the 400th anniversary of the event. In 1934, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 as Columbus Day and invited Americans to observe it. The president has proclaimed the holiday each year since then. In 1971, Columbus Day became a legal federal holiday, observed in the District of Columbia and by all federal employees. In addition, it moved to the second Monday in October. Many states also observe the holiday.
Although the land Columbus reached was not named after him, many monuments honor him. The Republic of Colombia in South America and the District of Columbia in the United States bear his name. So do towns, rivers, streets, and public buildings. The name Columbia has also been used as a poetic personification of the United States (see Columbia ). The Columbus Memorial Library in Washington, D.C., contains more than 500,000 volumes on the countries of the Americas.
Some states, cities, and towns in the United States celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of or in addition to Columbus Day. This day, which coincides with the federal holiday, honors the people and cultures that thrived in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans. In 2021, Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a proclamation commemorating Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Many Latin American countries celebrate October 12 as the Día de la Raza (Day of the Race). It honors the Spanish heritage of the peoples of Latin America. Celebration ceremonies feature speeches, parades, and colorful fiestas.
