Columbus Day 2024 falls on the Monday, 14th of October 2024.
Columbus Day 2024 –
Columbus Day marks the day when Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, landed on the shores of America in 1492. Columbus actually set out to see if there was a way to reach the Asian countries and India by heading west, since it was a common knowledge at the time that each was spherical. So after setting sail, the first place he stepped foot on was in the Bahamas, where he settled the first Spanish colony of 39 people. And later this was marked as the day that Columbus discovered America.
The History of Columbus landing on American Shores –
Although the Vikings are unofficially said to have sailed to the American continent long before Columbus, He is still regarded as the one who found America. In 1492, Christopher Columbus argued that there must be a way to reach India and China if one should start sailing west. The theory made sense, but no one at the time knew about the huge continent that was situated across the Atlantic Ocean.
At first when Columbus reached the American continent, he saw Cuba and thought it might have been mainland China. Later on he discovered Hispaniola, which he thought to be Japan, and where he laid the settlement of the first Spanish colony. He then returned to Spain in March 1493, with gold, spices and Native American captives, who he though as Indians, and hence the Native Americans are referred to as Indians today.
Learn more about the history and find out facts about Columbus Day 2024.
Controversies galore –
Since the 19th century, there have been controversies around the recognition of Columbus Day. The anti-immigrants groups shot down the idea of such a day due to its relation with Catholicism. The Native Americans do not want to be associated with the day since the colonization wreaked havoc on the natives and indigenous people. The settlers brought with themselves various diseases like smallpox and influenza which even furthered the killing of Native Americans.
When is Columbus Day celebrated?
Columbus Day is a federal holiday in the US, observed on the second Monday of October every year. The day was first celebrated in 1792 in New York by the Tammany Hall on the account of the 300th anniversary of Columbus’s landing on American shores. Due to the significances related to Columbus, the Italian and Catholic communities began organizing parties and get-togethers and held feasts and religious ceremonies in his honor.
In the year 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day as a national holiday, the decision however was quite political since he had to do it because of the intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus catholic organization.
Columbus Day 2024 will be observed on 14th of October.
The “Not Columbus Day” Alternatives –
Since we already read about the controversies regarding the celebration and recognition of Columbus Day, A lot of States and groups do not recognize Columbus Day as a real holiday. In the recent decades communities across the US have started celebrating and observing alternate holidays to the Columbus Day. States like Alaska, Oregon and Hawaii have started using this day as a commemoration of the Indigenous people’s day. Cities like Phoenix, Denver and Los Angeles have also joined in on the sentiment.
Throughout the American Continents, the image of Christopher Columbus is not something that they want to celebrate. Upon arriving in the Bahamas, Columbus and his men colonized the lands and started the unfortunate phenomenon of Slavery. Even when he became the governor of Hispaniola, he imposed unjust laws and barbaric punishments as means of discipline.
In Latin American countries, the day has been renamed and celebrated as “Dìa de la Raza” or the Day of the Race relating to the Hispanic culture’s diverse roots. In 2002, Venezuela renamed the day as “Dìa de la Resistencia Indìgena” or the Day of Indigenous Resistance to recognize the native people and their struggles against the colonists.
So, Now that you’ve read about the history of this day, Are you wondering about when is Columbus Day 2024? Learn more about this day and tell it to your peers. Columbus Day 2024 will be celebrated on 14th of October.
