October is Italian American Heritage Month and yesterday’s Columbus Day celebrations in New York City focused on this history. Although Columbus Day is October 12th, the holiday falls on the second Monday of October in the United States. The day commemorates the arrival of Columbus in the Americas.
Italian Americans, seeing Columbus as a great Italian and Catholic, began celebrating their heritage on this day in 1866 and it was the first generation Italian Angelo Noce of Denver who campaigned for the day to become a holiday. President Franklin D Roosevelt approved the holiday in 1934.
For this year’s 67th Parade in New York City, over 30,000 people marched up Fifth Avenue along with bands, floats and representatives of the armed forces, making the occasion the largest celebration of Italian-American culture in the world. Italian Americans were well represented by politicians and cultural figures.
There is some controversy over whether Columbus Day should be celebrated at all, however, and some campaigners wish to rename it “Indigenous People’s Day”.
Did you celebrate Columbus Day?
