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Columbus Day Links
Columbus Day Links
https://www.usa.gov/holidays Jul 14, 2023 “The United States recognizes 12 federal holidays. Learn about federal, state, and cultural holidays celebrated in the U.S. Many government offices and some private businesses close on annual federal holidays. Columbus Day (Second Monday in October)” USA.gov
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/10/07/columbus-day-indigenous-peoples-day-or-just-a-regular-monday-it-depends-on-where-you-are Oct 7, 2025 "Depending on where in the United States you live and for whom you work, Columbus Day may be a paid day off, an unpaid commemorative day, another holiday entirely or a regular Monday. Columbus Day, the second Monday in October, has long been one of the most inconsistently celebrated U.S. holidays. It’s an official federal holiday, which means federal workers normally get a paid day off and there’s no mail delivery. (This year, many federal offices already are closed because of the ongoing government shutdown.) Most banks and the bond markets that trade in U.S. government debt also will be closed, but the stock markets, most retailers and other businesses will remain open." Pew Research Center
https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/columbus-doors Dec 18, 2024 "The Columbus Doors, also called the Rogers Doors or Rotunda Doors, stand imposingly at the east entrance to the U.S. Capitol Building. At the pinnacle is a bust of Columbus, surrounded by rays and oak leaves, signifying his rising to glory. A running border is ornamented with Indian headdresses and emblems of conquest, navigation, the arts and sciences, history, agriculture, and commerce. The four figures symbolizing the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe, and America indicate the entire world's acknowledgement of Columbus's accomplishment. Between the panels are sculpted heads of historians and others whose writings on Columbus's voyage were the bases for the scenes depicted." U.S. Capitol Building
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/10/14/232120128/how-columbus-sailed-into-u-s-history-thanks-to-italians Oct 14, 2013 "It's been 521 years since the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus "sailed the ocean blue/in fourteen hundred and ninety-two." Since then, there have been thousands of parades, speeches and statues commemorating Columbus, along with a critical rethinking of his life and legacy." NPR
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/columbus-day-2025 Oct 12, 2025 "Just over 2 months later, on October 12, 1492, Columbus made landfall in the modern-day Bahamas. Upon his arrival, he planted a majestic cross in a mighty act of devotion, dedicating the land to God and setting in motion America’s proud birthright of faith. Though he initially believed he had arrived in Asia, his discovery opened the vast frontier and untold splendors of the New World to Europe. He later ventured onward to Cuba and other islands in the Caribbean — exploring their coasts and engaging with their people.... This Columbus Day, more than 500 years since Columbus arrived in the New World, we follow his example, we echo his resolve, and we offer our gratitude for his life of valor and grit. Above all, we commit to restoring a Nation that once again dares to tame the unknown, honors our rich cultural inheritance, and offers rightful praise to our Creator above. In commemoration of Christopher Columbus’s historic voyage, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as “Columbus Day.” NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 13, 2025, as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.... IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fiftieth." THE WHITE HOUSE
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/11/1045084634/indigenous-peoples-day-is-a-federal-holiday-now-activists-want-to-drop-columbus- Oct 11, 2021 "This year marks the first time a U.S. president has officially proclaimed an Indigenous Peoples' Day observance. But not every state or city broadly recognizes this day in honor of Native Americans." NPR
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays Oct 10, 2022 "Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the public holidays listed in these pages for Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a nonworkday -- Saturday or Sunday -- the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday)...The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the Federal Government." OPM.Gov
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/public-holidays.html Sep 26, 2023 Canada Public holidays for 2023: Thanksgiving Day - Monday, October 9, 2023 Canada.ca
https://theconversation.com/day-of-the-dead-from-aztec-goddess-worship-to-modern-mexican-celebration-124962 Oct 28, 2019 "While Halloween has its origins in pagan and Christian traditions, Day of the Dead has indigenous roots as a celebration of the Aztec goddess of death...Aztec mythology tells that Mictecacihuatl was sacrificed as a baby and magically grew to adulthood in the underworld, where she married. With her husband, she presided over the underworld." The Conversation
https://www.hellocanaryislands.com/experiences/the-passage-of-columbus-through-the-canary-islands Oct 18, 2024 "The Canary Islands were of vital importance in Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the New World. In addition to being the last port in Europe that the vessels set sail from, they were a refuelling point in all senses. The natural wealth of the islands, the quality of their drinking water and the friendliness of their inhabitants meant that the expedition stayed there for several weeks as they stocked up on strength for the long voyage ahead." Hello Canary Islands
Columbus Lesson Plans
Columbus Lesson Plans
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/columbus-reports-his-first-voyage-1493 Jan 1, 2012 A Spotlight on a Primary Source by Christopher Columbus "On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to find an all-water route to Asia. On October 12, more than two months later, Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas that he called San Salvador; the natives called it Guanahani.For nearly five months, Columbus explored the Caribbean, particularly the islands of Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Santo Domingo), before returning to Spain. He left thirty-nine men to build a settlement called La Navidad in present-day Haiti. He also kidnapped several Native Americans (between ten and twenty-five) to take back to Spain—only eight survived. Columbus brought back small amounts of gold as well as native birds and plants to show the richness of the continent he believed to be Asia." The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Columbus Day Video Links
Columbus Day Video Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ultcD4BN4 Jul 26, 2018 Explorer Christopher Columbus ventured across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain for the first time in 1492. Aiming to reach Asia, he instead stumbled upon the Americas, arriving at what we believe to now be the Bahamas. BBC Timestamp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tafi_181EA Oct 11, 2021 On your calendars it might say that today is Columbus Day, but as of last Friday, President Biden issued the first presidential proclamation of “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” KCAU-TV Sioux City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efIJuhM58SU&t Jun 6, 2014 Did Columbus really discover America? Get the full story. #AskHistory HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QtmM4EqXZo&t Oct 8, 2017 What is Columbus Day? Why do we celebrate it? Find out the history of the holiday, the 1492 voyage it commemorates, and the controversy it has ignited. National Geographic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMfP7vFdumI Oct 6, 2021 Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day: In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas discovering North America for Europeans. Columbus Day was established to celebrate that event but in recent years the holiday has been questioned due to Columbus's treatment of Native People in the Americas. Indigenous Peoples' Day was established to celebrate the culture and history of Native American cultures. The Daily Bellringer Questions below:
1. TRUE OR FALSE: Columbus was sailing west to prove the world was round.
2. What president officially recognized Columbus Day as a holiday?
3. What did Columbus order Native People to find for him?
4. How many states have officially moved from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day?
5. Do you believe states should continue to celebrate Columbus Day? Why or why not?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_4t-DsWUkU Aug 26, 2010 On January 5, 1502, prior to his fourth and final voyage to America, Columbus gathered several judges and notaries in his home in Seville. The purpose? To have them authorize copies of his archival collection of original documents through which Isabel and Fernando had granted titles, revenues, powers and privileges to Columbus and his descendants. These 36 documents are popularly called "Columbus' Book of Privileges." Four copies of his "Book" existed in 1502, three written on vellum and one on paper. The Library's copy, one of the three on vellum, has a unique paper copy of the Papal Bull Dudum siquidem of September 26, 1493, which extended the Spanish claim for future explorations. Library of Congress
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiWVE4bxbKA Oct 8, 2009 How Columbus Day came to be celebrated. HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0VSduxgT6U Oct 8, 2009 Christopher Columbus is known as many things, but he was also a master businessman. HISTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My8Vd-NZ8Qo&t Nov 7, 2012 Christopher Columbus (c. 1451 to May 20, 1506) was an Italian explorer and navigator. In 1492, he sailed across the Atlantic from Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña ships alongside, hoping to find a new route to India. Between 1492 and 1504, he made a total of four voyages to the Caribbean and South America and has been credited for opening up the Americas to European colonization. Biography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD3dgiDreGc&t Oct 13, 2014 Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage. But was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery? And did he even discover America at all? Alex Gendler puts Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus. Lesson by Alex Gendler, animation by Brett Underhill. TEDEd View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-christopher-columbus-alex-gendler
Do you believe people and states should continue to celebrate Columbus Day? Why or why not?
Do you believe people and states should continue to celebrate Columbus Day? Why or why not?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMfP7vFdumI Oct 6, 2021 Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day: In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas discovering North America for Europeans. Columbus Day was established to celebrate that event but in recent years the holiday has been questioned due to Columbus's treatment of Native People in the Americas. Indigenous Peoples' Day was established to celebrate the culture and history of Native American cultures. The Daily Bellringer Questions below:
1. TRUE OR FALSE: Columbus was sailing west to prove the world was round.
2. What president officially recognized Columbus Day as a holiday?
3. What did Columbus order Native People to find for him?
4. How many states have officially moved from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples' Day?
5. Do you believe states should continue to celebrate Columbus Day? Why or why not?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD3dgiDreGc&t Oct 13, 2014 Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage. But was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery? And did he even discover America at all? Alex Gendler puts Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus. Lesson by Alex Gendler, animation by Brett Underhill. TEDEd View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-christopher-columbus-alex-gendler
1. What distinguished the colonial practices of slavery and warfare from those that Native Americans had engaged in among themselves?
2. Why might Native Americans living today be uncomfortable with Columbus Day as it has been celebrated through most of the 20th century?
3. Do humanity’s moral standards change with time, or are there certain things that would shock people in any era?
4. Who were the first Europeans to visit the Americas?
5. What was Columbus trying to find in his expedition?
6. What is the official status of Columbus Day in the United States?
7. How did Columbus's governorship of the Hispaniola colony end?
8. What do some Latin American countries celebrate on holidays like Día de la Raza?
https://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-christopher-columbus-alex-gendler#review
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