The Origins of Columbus Day in the United States
Columbus day was first celebrated in the United States in 1792 by the Tammany Society of New York City, also known as the Columbian Order. A parade was held marking the 300th anniversary of Columbus's landing. In 1866 another parade was held by Italian immigrants to celebrate their connection with American history. In 1869 a similar parade was held by Italian Americans in San Francisco.
In 1892 President Harrison urged citizens to join in celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's arrival. In 1905 an Italian American petitioned the governor of Colorado to observe Columbus Day as a holiday. Various sites list this petitioner as Alvah Adams or Angelo Noce. Columbus day as a Colorado state holiday became law in 1907. Other states followed this example and in 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed October 12th Columbus Day and a holiday.
In 1971 President Richard M. Nixon declared Columbus Day to be a federal holiday with the holiday being celebrated on the second Monday in October. Columbus Day is generally observed by government agencies, banks and post offices. Most business and schools do not observe the holiday and retailers is the U.S. tend to have major sales events.
It is very interesting to note that Columbus Day is not observed in all states. Nevada and Alaska do not officially celebrate the holiday. Columbus Day is not a public holiday in California. The state of Hawaii celebrates the second Monday in October as "Discover's Day". Discover's Day celebrates the Polynesian discovery of Hawaii. Since 1990, South Dakota has observed this date as "Native Americans Day". In Virginia, two legal holidays are observed on the federal holiday, Columbus Day and Yorktown Victory Day.
In Berkeley California Columbus Day is celebrated as Indigenous Peoples Day. In 2009, in Nevada, Indigenous Peoples Day is 4 day celebration from October 9th through the 12th. Many people are calling for the replacement of Columbus Day and requesting the use of Indigenous Peoples Day. This is met with criticism in many areas but embraced in others. Whether or not this change occurs will depend on time and historical research.
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/columbus-day
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061005103756AAxUP6W
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Origins-Of-Columbus-Day-In-The-United-States
http://www.holidayorigins.com/html/columbus_day.html
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