While walking past a bank today, I realized Columbus Day is this Monday. Of course, bank and government closures are the only real sign of the holiday these days. Was there ever a time when Columbus Day was a widely celebrated holiday? What was a typical celebration like? And if it never was a major holiday, why are bank/government closures still done to this day.
Columbus Day was instituted to celebrate Italian-American contributions to the USA. It is still a big deal in areas with a large Italian American population. Here is a link to a description of the parade in NYC. http://www.nycgo.com/events/columbus-day-parade2.