Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbuss arrival in the Americas. Columbus went ashore at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492. The first Columbus Day celebration took place on October 12, 1792, when the Columbian Order of New York held an event to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the historic landing. 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. Columbus Day is generally observed by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, other federal agencies, most state government offices, many businesses, and schools typically remain open, as do most businesses.
However, Columbus Day is also a controversial holiday, as Columbus is viewed not as a discoverer, but rather as a colonizer. His arrival led to the forceful taking of land and set the stage for widespread death and loss of Indigenous ways of life. Since the 1990s, a growing number of states have begun to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day – a holiday meant to honor the culture and history of the people living in the Americas both before and after Columbus’ arrival.
