Columbus
Day is almost over and it really made no difference to me. The only thing that
I noticed was the fact that I couldn’t get a hold of everyone I normally would
on a Monday. You couldn’t even take your cue from the government because they
were closed already.
When
you think about it and consider all that we have learned about Columbus over
the years it makes you question why we even still have such a day. I personally
think that it’s a difficult argument saying that you discovered a new world
when there were people there to greet you. That’s like discovering a cabin in
the woods that no one knew about, that wasn’t on any maps, knocking on their
door and claiming the land as your own (if you survive of course).
To
give you a little background, and save your finger from having to hit another
button, here is the basic rundown from Wikipedia:
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere
celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas,
which happened on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday… Columbus Day first
became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal
holiday in the United States in 1937, though people have celebrated Columbus'
voyage since the colonial period. In 1792, New York City and other U.S. cities
celebrated the 300th anniversary of his landing in the New World. President Benjamin
Harrison called upon the people of the United States to celebrate Columbus Day
on the 400th anniversary of the event. During the four hundredth anniversary in
1892, teachers, preachers, poets and politicians used Columbus Day rituals to
teach ideals of patriotism. These patriotic rituals were framed around themes
such as support for war, citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to
the nation, and celebrating social progress.
Many Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a
celebration of their heritage, the first occasion being in New York City on
October 12, 1866. Columbus Day was first enshrined
as a legal holiday in the United States through the lobbying of Angelo Noce, a
first generation Italian, in Denver. The first statewide Columbus Day holiday
was proclaimed by Colorado governor Jesse F. McDonald in 1905, and it was made
a statutory holiday in 1907. In
April 1934, as a result of lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, Congress and
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made October 12 a federal holiday under the
name Columbus Day.
Since 1970, the holiday has been fixed to the
second Monday in October, coincidentally the same
day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada (which was fixed to that date in
1959) (note that October 12, 1970, was a Monday). It is generally observed
nowadays by banks, the bond market, the U.S. Postal Service, other federal
agencies, most state government offices, many businesses, and most school
districts. Some businesses and some stock exchanges remain open, also some
states and municipalities abstain from observing the holiday. The traditional
date of the holiday also adjoins the anniversary of the United States Navy
(founded October 13, 1775), and thus both occasions are customarily observed by
the Navy (and usually the Marine Corps as well) with either a 72 or 96-hour
liberty period.
Today
seems to epitomize the fact that, given time, people’s shortcomings are
frequently overlooked and their feats accentuated by historical storytelling.
Truth be told, Columbus was a man who got lost on a voyage, the Gilligan of the
15th century if you will, who, once he was given power, proved to be
a tyrannical ruler and proponent of genocide. So, happy Columbus day everyone!
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