Columbus Day is a national holiday which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus arriving in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Columbus Day was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century, but it did not become a federal holiday until 1937.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian born explorer who, with backing from the Spanish monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, set sail on the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, in August of 1492. Columbus intended to chart a western sea route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. Instead, he landed in the Bahamas, becoming the first European to explore the Americas since the Vikings in the 10th century. Later that October, Columbus sighted Cuba and believed it was mainland China. In March of 1493, Columbus returned to Spain. He crossed the Atlantic several more times before his death in 1506. It wasn’t until his third journey that Columbus finally realized he had not reached Asia, but instead he had stumbled upon a continent previously unknown to Europeans.
The first Columbus Day celebration took place in 1792, when New York’s Columbian Order held an event to commemorate the historic landing’s 300th Anniversary. Taking pride in Columbus’ birthplace and faith, Italian and Catholic communities in various parts of the country began organizing annual religious ceremonies and parades in his honor. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation encouraging Americans to mark the 400th Anniversary of Columbus’ voyage with patriotic festivities. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Columbus Day a national holiday. Columbus Day is now observed on the second Monday of October.