Columbus Day

Christopher Columbus discovered America in a blue-and-white sailor shirt, and since then, men have been wearing blue and white shirts.

Mickey Drexler

While it’s impossible to know if Christopher Columbus actually discovered America in a blue and white sailor shirt, we’re going to go with it for pure fun factor. Although in most recent years, the holiday has caused some controversy, we can at least read up on it’s celebration and why Columbus became such a figure in history.

History of Columbus Day

Columbus Day is observed in the United States, parts of Canada, Puerto Rico, and even parts of Italy and Spain. It commemorates the landing of Columbus to the new world. According to History.com, the day is supposed to celebrate his discoveries and his Italian-Spanish heritage.

The first celebration of this holiday occurred in 1792, when New York’s Colombian Order, Tammany Hall, held an event to observe the historic landing’s 300th anniversary. Although during this time period it was celebrated unofficially, it did not become a federal, official holiday until 1937 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

However, according to most researchers, he landed in Central and South America instead of the northern parts of the Americas. He originally believed he landed in Asia.

The arguments that arise from this holiday in most recent years have made this holiday debatable, considering the fact that he enslaved many of the natives that existed there and the issue of previous explorers like the Vikings discovering the lands beforehand.

However, people still learn about this holiday in schools. This day is also referred to as the Day of the Race (El Día de la Raza), which honors the many different peoples of Latin America. School children in the larger cities join fiestas, which sometimes lasts several days.

How to celebrate Columbus Day

If you wish to celebrate this day, you can look up the history of Christopher Columbus and learn about how he became so famous in modern culture. Read essays about Columbus, and learn about the different arguments people make about his legacy. The best way to understand the images in our lives is to look into them.

Learn why modern Americans celebrate this day, and why minorities celebrate this day and even look into how previous generations celebrated the day, or if they even did at all. No matter the opinions of Columbus as a person, he is still an image to recognize, and what better day to do so than Columbus Day.