Columbus Day

     I decided to post something today about a "holiday" that is not particularly celebrated, or in some cases even observed at all.  Here in South Dakota, it is called "Native American Day" and the schools and all government facilites are shut down.  Does your state, city, or town celebrate this day?  Oh yeah, and our Northern border friends in Canada are celebrating Thanksgiving today.  I think I would rather have a 2nd Thanksgiving!!! (Thank you Wikipedia for the info!)

     Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday. The event is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza in many countries in Latin America, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día de la Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain and as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Uruguay. These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century, and officially in various areas since the early 20th century.

     History

Columbus Day first became an official state holiday in Colorado in 1906, and became a federal holiday in 1937. However, 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. In 1892, 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.^[1]
     Non-observance
^{Hawaii, Alaska and South Dakota are the three states that do not recognize Columbus Day at all, though Hawaii and South Dakota mark the day with an alternative holiday or observance. Hawaii celebrates Discoverers' Day, which commemorates the Polynesian discoverers of Hawaii on the same date, the second Monday of October.[13] [14] though the name change has not ended protest related to the observance of Columbus' discovery.[15][16] The state government does not treat either Columbus Day or Discoverers' Day as a legal holiday;[17] state, city and county government offices and schools are open for business. South Dakota celebrates the day as officially a state holiday known as "Native American Day" rather than Columbus Day.[18] Nevada does not celebrate Columbus Day as an official holiday; however, the governor is "authorized and requested" by statute to proclaim the day each year.[19] This probably has less to do with any objection to the celebration of the day than the fact that it's relatively close to Nevada Day, and schools and banks can only be closed for so many days.
Several other states have removed Columbus Day as a paid holiday for government workers while still maintaining it either as a day of recognition or a legal holiday for other purposes. These include California[20][21][22] and Texas.[23]
In 2007, Dane County Wisconsin Supervisor Ashok Kumar replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day.[24] The city of Berkeley, California has replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous People's Day since 1992,[25] a move which has been replicated by several other localities.[26] Two other California cities, Sebastopol and Santa Cruz, now celebrate Indigenous People's Day.[26] South Dakota renamed the holiday "Native American Day".[27] Various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day "Native American Day", or name the day after their own tribe.}