Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' Day

Culture of origin: National · National holiday

Holiday sources: United States (federal)

Columbus Day marks Christopher Columbus's landing in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, which began the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Many Italian Americans keep it as a celebration of their heritage; it has been a federal holiday since 1971. Indigenous Peoples' Day began as a counter-celebration on the same day, honouring Native Americans and the harm colonization did them; Berkeley adopted it in 1992, and in 2021 Joe Biden was the first president to proclaim it.