Columbus Day - USA

Columbus Day (Obsvd)
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This day commemorates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Columbus Day in the United States
Columbus Day is celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October. The first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the USA was held by the Tammany Society, also known as the Colombian Order, in New York on October 12th 1792, marking the 300th anniversary of Columbus's landing in the Bahamas.

Many Italian-Americans observe Columbus Day as a celebration of Italian-American heritage. Columbus Day was first celebrated by Italians in San Francisco in 1869, following on the heels of 1866 Italian celebrations in New York City. The first state celebration was in Colorado in 1905, and in 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt set aside Columbus Day as a holiday in the United States. Since 1971, the holiday has been commemorated in the U.S. on the second Monday in October, the same day as Thanksgiving in neighboring Canada.

Banks are almost always closed on this day, as are government offices. Public schools however are not usually closed on Columbus Day; nor is it recognized by most American employers as a day off from work.