It’s the second Monday in October. You wake up, check the mail, and realize the post office is closed. Banks are shut down. Maybe your kids are home from school, or maybe they aren’t. It depends entirely on where you live. For decades, Columbus Day United States was just that thing on the calendar that meant a day off and maybe a department store sale. But lately? It’s complicated.
Actually, it’s beyond complicated. It’s a full-on cultural tug-of-war.
If you’re in South Dakota, you’re celebrating Native Americans’ Day. If you’re in Berkeley, California, it’s Indigenous Peoples' Day. If you’re in a traditional Italian-American neighborhood in New York or Chicago, you might be watching a parade featuring a guy in a velvet doublet and tights. What started as a way to help Italian immigrants feel "American" has morphed into a massive debate about who we honor and how we tell our history. Honestly, it’s one of the few federal holidays that feels more like a local argument than a national celebration.
The Weird History of How This Became a Federal Holiday
Most people think Columbus Day has been around since the beginning. It hasn't. It wasn't even a thing for a long time. The very first recorded celebration happened in 1792, mostly because the Tammany Hall crowd in New York wanted to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the voyage. They weren't necessarily obsessed with Columbus; they just wanted to distance themselves from British history.
Then things got dark.
In 1891, eleven Italian immigrants were lynched in New Orleans. It was one of the largest mass lynchings in American history. Anti-Italian sentiment was everywhere. To smooth things over with the Italian government and try to calm the domestic tension, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed a one-time celebration of the 400th anniversary in 1892. He framed Columbus as a way to show that Italians were part of the American fabric from the very start.
Fast forward to 1934. The Knights of Columbus—a Catholic fraternal organization—basically lobbied Congress into making it a federal holiday. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed it into law. But it wasn't until 1971 that it got moved to the "Monday" slot we know today.
What Really Happened in 1492 (No, He Didn't "Discover" America)
Let’s be real: Christopher Columbus never actually set foot on the mainland United States. Not once. He landed in the Bahamas, specifically an island the Lucayan people called Guanahani. He spent most of his time in the Caribbean—Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Cuba.
👉 See also: Black Red Wing Shoes: Why the Heritage Flex Still Wins in 2026
The "discovery" narrative is what usually starts the fights at the dinner table.
Historians like Samuel Eliot Morison, who wrote a definitive biography in 1942, praised Columbus’s seamanship. But newer scholarship, looking at the primary sources from people like Bartolomé de las Casas, paints a much more brutal picture. Las Casas was a contemporary of Columbus and wrote about the horrific treatment of the Taíno people. We’re talking about forced labor in gold mines, extreme violence, and the introduction of European diseases that wiped out entire populations.
It wasn't just "unfortunate side effects" of exploration. In his own journals, Columbus wrote about how easy the people would be to subjugate. He wasn't exactly looking for a peaceful cultural exchange. He was looking for gold and a shorter route to the East Indies. He failed at both, yet he became the face of the "New World."
The Shift Toward Indigenous Peoples' Day
If you’ve noticed your calendar looking different, you aren't imagining it. The movement to rename Columbus Day United States started way back in 1977 at a United Nations conference on discrimination against indigenous populations. But the first city to actually pull the trigger was Berkeley, California, in 1992—the 500th anniversary of the voyage.
They didn't want to celebrate a guy who kickstarted a century of genocide.
Since then, it’s been a domino effect. As of 2026, over a dozen states and hundreds of cities have officially ditched the name. President Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a formal proclamation for Indigenous Peoples' Day in 2021, though the federal holiday technically remains "Columbus Day" in the U.S. Code.
- States that have made the switch: Oregon, New Mexico, Maine, and Vermont were early adopters.
- The Hybrid Approach: Some places, like Alabama and Oklahoma, have tried to have it both ways by celebrating both on the same day.
- The Holdouts: Places with huge Italian-American populations, like New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania, tend to stick with the traditional name, seeing it as a celebration of their heritage rather than the man himself.
Why Italian-Americans Still Hold On
You’ve probably seen the angry op-eds. For many Italian-Americans, this isn't about defending the 15th-century actions of a Genoese explorer. It’s about their grandparents.
✨ Don't miss: Finding the Right Word That Starts With AJ for Games and Everyday Writing
When their ancestors arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they weren't considered "white" by many. They were targeted, discriminated against, and told they didn't belong. Columbus Day was their "we’ve arrived" moment. It was a day to stand tall and say, "The guy who started this whole American experiment was one of ours."
When people talk about tearing down Columbus statues, these communities often feel like their own history of struggle in the U.S. is being erased. It’s a deep, emotional connection that goes way beyond a history textbook.
But here’s the rub: many younger Italian-Americans are starting to push back. They’re saying, "We can celebrate our heritage without tethering it to a guy who was, by all accounts, a pretty terrible person even by 15th-century standards."
The Economics of a Federal Holiday
Ever wonder why your local bank is closed but the grocery store is packed?
Columbus Day is a "federal" holiday, which means federal government employees get the day off. But it’s not a "public" holiday in the way Christmas or Thanksgiving is. Private companies are under no obligation to give employees the day off.
In fact, according to data from the Pew Research Center, Columbus Day is one of the least-observed federal holidays in the private sector. Only about 15% to 20% of private businesses close. It’s mostly a day for government offices, courts, and post offices.
And then there's the retail aspect. Because it falls on a Monday, it’s become a "long weekend" sales event. It’s sort of a precursor to Black Friday. You’ll see "Columbus Day Mattress Sales" or "Indigenous Peoples' Day Outdoor Gear Clearouts." It’s a bit weird to have a massive sale on a day that’s essentially about a massive historical trauma or a complex immigrant identity, but that’s the U.S. for you.
🔗 Read more: Is there actually a legal age to stay home alone? What parents need to know
Modern Myths vs. Reality
People love to argue about the "flat earth" thing. You’ve probably heard that everyone in 1492 thought the world was flat and Columbus was a hero for proving them wrong.
That’s total nonsense.
Educated Europeans since the time of the Greeks (specifically Eratosthenes) knew the world was a sphere. The argument wasn't about the shape of the earth; it was about the size. Columbus thought the world was much smaller than it actually is. He thought he could sail west and hit Asia quickly. His critics were actually right—the distance was much farther. He only survived the trip because he accidentally bumped into the Caribbean islands.
If those islands weren't there, he and his crew would have starved to death in the middle of a much larger ocean. He didn't prove the world was round; he proved he was lucky.
How to Navigate the Day Now
So, what are you supposed to do?
If you’re a business owner or a local leader, the trend is clearly moving toward a more inclusive approach. If you’re just a person wondering how to acknowledge the day, here’s the deal: you can do both. You can appreciate the contributions of Italian immigrants to American culture while also acknowledging the historical reality of the Indigenous people who were here for thousands of years before 1492.
Actionable Steps for Learning and Respecting the History
- Check the Land: Visit Native-Land.ca to see which Indigenous tribes originally lived where you are currently sitting. It’s a quick reality check that history didn't start in the 1400s.
- Support Indigenous Business: If you’re going to spend money during those "holiday sales," look for Indigenous-owned brands or artists.
- Update Your Calendar: If you manage a team or a school, consider labeling the day as "Indigenous Peoples' Day" or "Indigenous Peoples' Day / Columbus Day" to acknowledge the full scope of the conversation.
- Read the Source Material: Don't just take a social media post's word for it. Look up excerpts from the Journal of Christopher Columbus. Seeing his own words about the people he met changes your perspective pretty fast.
- Talk to Your Kids: If they get the day off, tell them why. Explain that history isn't just a list of names; it’s a story we are still figuring out how to tell.
The reality of Columbus Day United States in 2026 is that it’s a holiday in transition. It’s shifting from a day of unquestioned myth-making to a day of messy, necessary reflection. Whether you’re eating pasta or attending a tribal ceremony, the goal should be the same: understanding the truth of how we got here, even the parts that make us uncomfortable.