Columbus Day celebrates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World in 1492. Though it did not become an official holiday in the United States until 1937, Columbus Day was celebrated in various places throughout the country as early as the 1700s.

 

Established as a federal holiday in 1937, Columbus Day commemorates the explorer's arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492. Though Italian, Columbus had difficulty securing financial support for his exploration, ultimately being backed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Despite sailing for Spain, Columbus is still a revered figure among Italian-Americans, many of whom see Columbus Day as a time to celebrate both the famed explorer and their own heritage.

 

Upon departing on his voyage, Columbus intended to sail west to the spice islands of Asia. But that route never materialized, and upon landing in the Bahamas, Columbus became the first European to explore the Americas in centuries.

 

In spite of landing in the Bahamas, Columbus still thought his voyage was on course for China and the spice islands of Asia, and soon after landing in the Bahamas, Columbus spotted an island he believed was China. But the island Columbus sighted was, in fact, Cuba, which the expedition discovered shortly before it found Hispaniola, an island in the Caribbean Sea that would become the first European colony founded by Columbus on his voyage.

 

Though Columbus returned to Spain a hero in 1493, it would not be until his third journey that the explorer would realize he had not, in fact, reached Asia but instead had discovered a continent previously unknown to Europeans.

 

The first celebration of Columbus Day in the United States took place in New York in 1792. The event, organized by the now-infamous Tammany Hall, commemorated the 300th anniversary of the explorer's discovery. That initial event inspired both Italian and Catholic communities in the United States to organize ceremonies and parades in Columbus' honor, traditions that continue today in various cities, including New York.

 

By 1937, the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal organization of considerable influence, successfully lobbied President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim Columbus Day a national holiday. Columbus Day was originally observed on October 12, but in 1971 the holiday was switched to the second Monday of October. 

• 
•