# Has Columbus Day ever been a real holiday? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 10, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194 "2011-10-10T16:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/21 "2011-10-11T01:19:39Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > Do most of the people in your area have the day off? Where are you? I don’t know about most people. My wife is a public school teacher, and today is a regular class day. It’s the only day of the year that I get off, but she doesn’t. ETA: I am in California, in the Bay Area. ETA2: We only started to get this as a holiday after we merged with a company based in New Hampshire, which had always observed it. Prior to that we did not observe it. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/22 "2011-10-11T03:22:23Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I was thinking it was linked to the number of Italian Americans living there, and perhaps the age of the state. > > That’s why I figured it was a big deal in NJ and NY. That’s my thinking, too. My heavily Italian home town still has a parade, and fireworks for Columbus Day. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/23 "2011-10-11T09:46:13Z")
It was pretty big when I lived in Miami, but among the Hispanic population. I’ve got a poster from the first year I lived there ('94) announcing the celebrations of \*el Día de la Hispanidad \*- it struck me as absolutely hilarious, because by that time talking about \*la Raza \*or _la Hispanidad_ had become completely un-PC in Spain. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/24 "2011-10-11T13:00:57Z")
Poor old Chris really got screwed. The 500th anniversary of his trip came and went with barely a whimper. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/25 "2011-10-11T13:59:58Z")
It was a bigger holiday than it is now. In part, I think this is because people have started to look at Columbus’ legacy in a different light. In the 80s and 90s I can remember people protesting at Columbus day parades and splashing fake blood on a statue of Columbus (in Chicago?). There was even a Sopranos episode about such protests. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/26 "2011-10-11T16:43:52Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I was thinking it was linked to the number of Italian Americans living there, and perhaps the age of the state. > > That’s why I figured it was a big deal in NJ and NY. I guess that’s the key. Michigan has some Italian-Americans, but they’re not really a significant ethnic group around here. I had never even heard of parades on Columbus Day until I started this thread. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194/27 "2011-10-11T17:45:37Z")
I’ve never heard of it NOT being a holiday. Working on that day is inconceivable. But I’ve never witnessed any celebrations for it, and yesterday I was in a town where they have a parade for everything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-columbus-day-ever-been-a-real-holiday/599194.md?page=1)