If you’ve looked at a calendar lately and felt a bit turned around, you aren't alone. It used to be simple. You had a day off in October, maybe a parade with some Italian flags, and a vague story about three ships. But things changed fast. Nowadays, the answer to do we still celebrate Columbus Day depends entirely on where you’re standing and who you’re talking to. Honestly, it’s become one of the most fractured holidays in American history.
Some people still see it as a celebration of heritage and the "discovery" of the Americas. Others see it as a day of mourning for Indigenous peoples who were here long before 1492. It’s a tug-of-war. The federal government says one thing, your state might say another, and your local school district might have a totally different vibe altogether.
The Federal Status: Is It Still a Legal Holiday?
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. Yes. On a federal level, Columbus Day is still very much a thing. It’s a legal public holiday. This means the post office is closed, the bond markets take a breather, and federal employees get a paid day off. President Joe Biden has continued the tradition of issuing a proclamation for it every year, but he did something interesting starting in 2021. He also issued a proclamation for Indigenous Peoples' Day on the same date.
It’s basically a dual-track holiday now.
Because it’s a federal holiday, it always falls on the second Monday in October. This was thanks to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968. Before that, it was always October 12. Moving it to Monday was mostly about giving people a three-day weekend. Isn't it funny how much of our "tradition" is actually just about logistics and long weekends?
The Shift Toward Indigenous Peoples' Day
The momentum has shifted massively over the last decade. You’ve probably noticed your digital calendar might show both names now. This isn't just a trend; it's a legal shift in dozens of places.
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States like Oregon, New Mexico, and Maine have officially swapped. They don't recognize Columbus at all anymore. Instead, they’ve pivoted to Indigenous Peoples' Day. Why? Well, the push comes from a desire to acknowledge the history that existed before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria showed up. It’s about recognizing the survival and the culture of the people who were already living here.
South Dakota was actually the pioneer here. They started celebrating Native Americans' Day back in 1990. They were decades ahead of the curve. Now, you’ve got massive cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Denver—where the first-ever Columbus Day celebration actually happened—that have officially made the switch.
Why Some Communities Fight to Keep It
You can't talk about do we still celebrate Columbus Day without mentioning the Italian-American community. For many, this holiday isn't really about the man Christopher Columbus himself—who, let's be real, never even set foot in North America. It’s about their own history of immigration and discrimination.
Back in the late 1800s, Italian immigrants were treated horribly. They faced violence and systemic racism. In 1891, eleven Italian Americans were lynched in New Orleans. It was one of the largest mass lynchings in U.S. history. Following that tragedy, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed a one-time celebration of Columbus in 1892 as a way to ease tensions and honor the contribution of Italian immigrants.
For these families, the holiday is a point of pride. It’s about saying, "We belong here." When people try to remove the holiday, some Italian-American groups see it as an erasure of their specific struggle. This is why in places like New York City or Chicago, you still see massive parades. They aren't celebrating the 15th-century explorer's navigation skills; they’re celebrating their grandfathers and grandmothers who built the subways and the skyscrapers.
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The "School Calendar" Confusion
Schools are where the "do we still celebrate" question gets really confusing. Many districts have renamed the day "Fall Break" or "Indigenous Peoples' Day" to sidestep the controversy entirely. If you’re a parent, you’ve likely noticed that the school year calendar is a minefield of political correctness and historical revision.
Some schools use the day to teach a "two-sided" history. They’ll talk about the Columbian Exchange—the trade of plants, animals, and unfortunately, diseases between the Old World and the New. This is a more nuanced way of looking at it. Instead of a hero or a villain story, it’s a "this changed the world forever" story.
But in many parts of the country, the day is just... gone. It’s just another Monday. No assembly, no special lesson, nothing.
A Global Perspective: It's Not Just a US Thing
We often think of this as a purely American debate, but it’s happening all over the Western Hemisphere. In Spain, they celebrate Fiesta Nacional de España. It’s a huge military parade. They aren't exactly debating the merits of the day in the same way we are.
However, in Latin America, the tone is very different. Many countries have renamed the day Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) or Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance). In Venezuela and Nicaragua, the focus is explicitly on the resistance against colonization. It’s fascinating to see how the same historical event is viewed through such different lenses depending on whether you’re in Madrid, Mexico City, or Miami.
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The Practical Side: What’s Actually Closed?
If you're just trying to figure out if you can go to the bank, here is the deal.
Most big banks follow the Federal Reserve schedule, so they are closed. The stock market (NYSE and Nasdaq) is actually open, which is a weird quirk. They don't take the day off. Most private businesses stay open, too. It’s not like Thanksgiving or Christmas where everything shuts down. It’s a "working holiday" for the majority of the American workforce.
- Post Offices: Closed. No mail delivery.
- Courts: Generally closed.
- Public Libraries: Usually closed, but check your local branch.
- Retail Stores: Open (and usually having a sale).
- Public Transit: Often runs on a modified or Sunday schedule.
How to Navigate the Day Personally
So, do we still celebrate Columbus Day in a way that makes sense in 2026?
It really comes down to your personal values and your community. We are in a transitional period. History is rarely settled. It’s constantly being rewritten as we learn more or as our social values evolve.
If you want to be culturally sensitive, the move is to acknowledge the complexity. You don't have to pick a "side" to be informed. You can recognize the importance of Italian-American heritage while also acknowledging the devastating impact of European colonization on Indigenous populations. The two things can exist at the same time.
Actionable Steps for the October Holiday:
- Check your local government website. Don't assume your trash will be picked up or that the DMV is open. Localities are making their own rules more than ever.
- Support Indigenous creators. If your city has moved to Indigenous Peoples' Day, look for local events. Many tribes hold markets or storytelling events that are open to the public. It’s a great way to actually learn something instead of just having a day off.
- Research your own genealogy. Use the day to look into your own family's arrival in the Americas. Whether your ancestors came over on a boat in the 1600s or a plane in the 1990s, everyone has a "migration story" that defines their place here.
- Read "An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. If you want the full context of why the holiday is changing, this is the foundational text. It’s not a light read, but it’s eye-opening.
- Acknowledge Italian-American contributions. If you’re in a city with a parade, go. Enjoy the food. Recognize the very real history of the people who used this holiday to find a sense of safety in a country that didn't always want them.
The reality is that "Columbus Day" as we knew it in the 1950s is mostly gone. What we have now is a complicated, often tense, but ultimately more honest reflection of how diverse people view the "beginning" of the modern Americas. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s very American.