When is Columbus Day 2024?

Is Columbus Day a Federal Holiday?

Columbus Day is a federal holiday celebrated by many states on the second Monday in October each year. It’s one of 10 official federal holidays, which means federal workers get a paid day off.

2024 – Monday, October 14, 2024, is Columbus Day

In recent years, Native American groups citing Columbus’s own mistreatment of natives and have advocated changing the holiday to something else. Several states and dozens of cities recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead.

It was 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.

The Americans might not have a Columbus Day if Christopher Columbus had not been born in Italy*.

Columbus Day is a federal holiday. It is celebrated on the second Monday in October each year.

Out of pride the Italian population of New York City organised the first celebration of the discovery of America on October 12, 1866. The following year, more Italian organisations 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.

2024 Columbus Day Parades and Events

New York – The Annual Columbus Day Parade

The full parade is a series of events.

More information: https://columbuscitizens.org/Columbus_Day/Columbus_Day_Parade

San Francisco Italian Heritage Parade

San Francisco’s Italian-American Community celebrates the Italian Heritage Parade, featuring Italian and Italian-American dignitaries, music, performances, floats, and representatives of Italian and Italian-American organizations and businesses.

More information: https://www.sfitalianheritage.org/

Columbus Day – Your Comments:

*One of our readers has provided an alternative historical account of Christopher Columbus. This version is different to what is found in US history books.

*Christopher Columbus was not born in Italy, because Italy did not exist as a country until 1861. In fact, Cristoval Colom was born in Barcelona, Kingdom of Aragon. The person, Cristoforo Colombo, believed to have been born in Genoa, was actually born in 1431, twenty years before Cristoval Colom, the discoverer of the New World, who was born in 1451, during the time when Genoa was part of FRANCE.During the 1450s and 1460s, the Republic of Genoa became a pawn in the struggle between France and Aragon for power and influence. Threatened by Alfonso V of Aragon, the Doge of Genoa in 1458 handed the Republic over to the French, becoming the Duchy of Genoa under the control of a French royal governor, John of Anjou. However, with support from Milan, Genoa revolted and the Republic was restored in 1461. The Milanese then changed sides, conquering Genoa in 1464 and holding it as a fief of the French crown.[20][21][22] Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa during this period, but sought a career elsewhere. Genoa was ultimately occupied by the French or the Milanese for much of the period.

Kudos for him…

I am all for not erasing history by changing names, statues, etc. in the belief that only perfect white people should be represented anywhere publicly (which is no one), and all indigenous people are ok to be represented because they are all seen as perfect. Also, the claiming of ownership of the land by deceased native Americans from over a hundred years ago, makes hard working land owners of all ethnicities worry. Stirring up stress and racial strife only creates extremism in politics such as people around the world have experienced for the last five years.

Columbus should be honored as an intelligent, educated and skillful man who was capable of sailing a fifteenth century sailing vessel to the Americas. Kudos for him. He was not perfect, and so what of it? No one is. If we only honored people from stone age cultures, where would we be now? Maybe better off, maybe not.

So tragic….

So tragic that our history now has to be rewritten, changed, denied, canceled because some find it offensive.  So for those of us who find it offensive to ignore or distort our history, we don’t count.  No one denies some of the pain of our past but that is our history.  Truth shouldn’t be denied for the sake of offensive content.  We should still celebrate the contribution of Columbus even with all his flaws.

And another readers comment…

Columbus Day…….he may have been the first European to set foot on North American soil, but in reality, he discovered nothing. How can you discover a continent when there are Native Americans standing on the shore as you row in. It’s like discovering your neighbors Cadillac in his driveway. Let’s get real.

And another comment…

Stop passing on misinformation. It is NOT an accepted fact that Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover the Americas. It’s fairly well known now that the first European to discover the Americas was Leif Eriksson. Historians and archaeologists have been excavating and studying Viking settlements in Newfoundland since the 1960s.

Obviously incorrect…

It is certain that Scandinavians “discovered” America centuries before Columbus stumbled upon it, based on archaeological relics found in the Great Lakes area and others. There is also almost indisputable evidence that Asians “discovered” America thousands of years earlier and populated both North and South America with different tribes that were much later called American Indians, Incans, Aztecs and many more. The idea that a land is only discovered when relatively modern-day Europeans find it is obviously incorrect.

Con man?

It is quit an absurdity that we celebrate a european holiday called Columbus Day. Firstly, he hustled Queen Isabelle and her Husband Ferdinand, who had just completed the re-conquest of Catholic Spain from the Moors, for boats to find a quick route to Indian in order to be more powerful in the New order in Europe. For much of Europe, they were just beginning to come out of the dark ages! Out of 4 voyages he failed to find a route to India! Secondly, how can you discover a place that had been occupied for thousands of years, by civilized people who had city-states, advanced science, respect for human life and lived in harmony with one another.( yes there were also problems but violence was at a minimal) That fact the Columbus is a Murderer is not included in the story of this man shows how we have come to make his story incomplete and twisted history to the Euopean . Don’t hold Columbus accountable, he was a con man, we are accountable for continuing this Lie.

Columbus Day seems to be a fallacy

Is it meant to be a Federal Holiday  that no one observes except the Federal Lending Institutions in my City the Bank is closed on Monday but the Library is to be open all day long many other offices will be open – is this Wrong

Memorial for the 11 Italian-Americans

I would like to point out that Columbus Day was established in 1892 as a memorial for the 11 Italian-Americans  that were hung in 1891.

I suggest people get their facts straight by actually reading about the historical events they want to complain about.

And yes Columbus did some bad things but that is not to be celebrated by this holiday.

What are your thoughts?

Columbus Day Comments or Opinions welcome – please email us.

Columbus Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the second Monday in October each year

Upcoming Dates for Columbus Day