New York Italian Population Responsible For Columbus Day

Columbus Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October each year. It is generally accepted that Christopher Columbus was the first European to have discovered the New World of the Americas. 1992 marked the 500th anniversary of the Columbus discovery. Across the United States people celebrate the day Columbus landed in America because it changed the course of history.

It is interesting that Americans might not have a Columbus Day if Christopher Columbus had not been born in Italy. Out of pride for their native son, the Italian population of New York organized the first celebration of the discovery of America on October 12, 1866. The following year, more Italian organizations in an increased number of cities held banquets, parades and dances on that date. In 1869, when the Italians of San Francisco celebrated October 12, they called it Columbus Day.

In 1905, Colorado became the first state to observe a Columbus Day. Over the next twenty years other states followed. In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every October 12 as Columbus Day. Since 1971 Columbus Day has been celebrated on the second Monday in October.