why do we celebrate columbus day?

Answers to why do we celebrate columbus day

Columbus Day, on the second Monday in October, is meant to commemorate Oct. 12, 1492, the day when the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailed from Spain and ‘‘discovered” the Americas. One of the oldest holidays celebrated by the United States, Columbus Day dates back all the way to 1792, only 16 years after the United States declared its independence from Britain. It was first observed in New York City, mainly due to the city’s numerous Italian-American residents, to celebrate the 300-year anniversary of the voyage.

Although it is widely disputed by historians the world over, the general belief is that Columbus discovered the Americas. We all remember the saying from school, ‘‘In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” No one is certain exactly which island in the Caribbean he really discovered. And while it is still debated exactly where the explorer docked the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, his three flagships, it is agreed that Christopher Columbus was at least here.

In recent time, it has become less and less popular to revere Columbus. The idea that he ‘‘discovered” a portion of the world that had already been inhabited by native people for thousands of years, is pure arrogance. Even the name ‘‘America” is attributed to another Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed the ‘‘ocean blue” long before Columbus. Most historians even agree that the notion that the earth was round was already widely known to the educated people of Columbus’ time.

Although it is a federally observed holiday, many states have given way to popular opinion and changed the meaning behind the observance. In South Dakota, they celebrate Native American Day instead of Columbus Day. Hawaii calls their holiday Discoverer’s Day, instead. Colorado, the first state to have a state-wide celebration for Columbus Day back in 1905, has protesters every year at their Denver Columbus Day parade.

In spite of all the criticism and controversy, there is a deeper meaning behind this holiday. It really doesn’t matter when people knew America existed. We already have a holiday for that. It’s the Fourth of July. It doesn’t matter who set foot here first. The Native Americans did, no question about that.

Columbus Day is more about discovery. It’s an idea that rings true even today, just as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, ring true for every American. Discovery is the belief that the unknown is still out there. That kind of imagination and determination created a country where everyone is entitled to self-expression, freedom of religion and the right to vote. Where would we be today if we hadn’t discovered our own America for ourselves?

Digging Deeper
‘In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.’ If we remember nothing else about Columbus we still can hear our entire third grade classroom repeating that line. While Columbus may have proven that the Earth was round and definitely larger than everyone first thought, even he underestimated its actual size. He assumed that by traveling west he would end up in the East Indies, the islands off Southeast Asia. Once he landed, Columbus intended to bring the highly desirable Asian spices and silks back to Europe.

What we weren’t taught in school is that not once did he ever set eyes on mainland North America. His most important accomplishment was making the first connection between Europeans and the Americas. Permanent European colonies were eventually settled in the New World, as it was called, because of this connection. But where did his ships land if not North America? In the early morning hours of October 12th, 1492, a sailor from the ship called the Pinta sighted land. Columbus and his crew soon landed on the Bahamian Island of Guanahani. They would also visit Cuba and Hispaniola, or Haiti, as we now know it. All of the areas they explored were inhabited and, in fact, the Vikings had actually explored the North American coast 500 years before Columbus.

Christopher Columbus lived from 1451 until the year 1505. He was the son of a merchant father and his mother was a weaver. He was actually born in Genoa, Italy, although his quest for adventure would take him far beyond Europe. His first escapade at sea began when he was just 14 years old. The ship he was aboard wrecked near Portugal in 1470 and he swam ashore and stayed there to live. From 1477 to 1482 he made many merchant voyages. It wasn’t until the year 1484 that Columbus finally presented his “Enterprise of the Indies” idea to King John of Portugal. It wasn’t well received and so Columbus moved to Spain. He presented the same idea to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella who ended up financing the voyage. Their city of Palos had to pay back a debt to the crown and so it gave up two of their ships for the mission. In all, very little money came directly from the crown treasury. Eventually three ships named the Nina, Pinta, and the flagship Santa Maria, set sail for the New World with Columbus and 90 men aboard.

What happened to Columbus after this famous trip?
The Santa Maria sank near Haiti on Christmas Day in the year 1492. Columbus left for Spain on January 16th, 1493. He traveled on the Nina and arrived back home on March 4th. Columbus made three more voyages which helped to colonize Hispaniola, and he did discover the South America mainland. He returned to Spain for the last time on November 7th, 1504. He died at Valladolid, Spain on May 20th, 1506. He was 55 years old.

Timeline of Columbus Day Celebrations
October 12, 1792 - First celebration marking the 300th Anniversary of Columbus’ landing in the Bahamas held by the Colombian Order, later known as The Society of St. Tammany, in New York City.

October 12, 1866 - Italians in New York celebrated the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus.

October 12, 1869 - Italians in San Francisco celebrated “C-Day.”

1892 - President Benjamin Harrison made a commemorative proclamation to mark the 400th Anniversary of Columbus’ voyage.

1907 - Colorado is the first state to celebrate Columbus Day.

October 12, 1909 - New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes led a parade in honor of Columbus and declared the day a holiday.

1920 - Various celebrations have occurred annually since this time to unofficially celebrate Columbus Day.

1937 - President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12th as Columbus Day.

1971 - Congress declared the second Monday in October a federal holiday celebrating Columbus Day.

Disclaimer - Answers to the questions are researched using various sources and are meant to increase the knowledge of our visitors. We cannot gurantee the accuracy of answers to questions.

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