I bet you did not know all of these 10 Columbus (Day) facts… or maybe you did

Depending on who you ask, Columbus Day can be a much ridiculed day. Everyone views Columbus a little differently, and they are certainly entitled to their opinions. All that aside, today we are going to dive into 10 Columbus Day facts as we are getting ready to celebrate this holiday on the 10th day of the 10th month of the year.

1. Columbus Day is boycotted by many – While Christopher Columbus is often viewed as the man who discovered America, his legacy also comes with a lot of baggage. Native Americans in particular view him as the man who introduced slave trade and brought about millions of deaths through murder and disease. Talk about a heavy burden weighing on someone’s legacy.
2. Columbus Day is an achievement remembrance day – To many others, Columbus Day is a day to merely celebrate Christopher Columbus’s achievements. Those who don’t view him as a land invader view him New World establisher. I’ll leave that up to you to decide which people you tend to agree with more.
3. Columbus never set foot in North America – The man who sailed the ocean blue went on four voyages from 1492 to 1502. None of those voyages included a trip to North America. He did, however, make it to the Caribbean as well as South and Central America.
4. The Vikings got to the Americas first – Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Columbus was not the first to discover the New World. The Vikings from Scandinavia were the first Europeans to make it to the Americas. The more you know!
5. Columbus Day has an alias – Indigenous People’s Day has become a widely popular alternative to Columbus Day. With the numerous people who have an issue with Columbus, they would prefer to celebrate the history of indigenous people. President Joe Biden even dubbed Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day as well.
6. Christopher Columbus has an alias – Not only does Columbus Day have an alternative name, but so does Christopher Columbus. He was born in Genoa as Cristoforo Colombo. Try saying that five times fast.
7. Columbus Day is extra important to some – Because of Columbus’s aforementioned roots, Italian-Americans love celebrating Columbus Day. Genoa is in Italy, so Columbus Day is a day to celebrate their heritage as well.
8. Columbus did not debunk flat earth theories – There’s still plenty of flat earthers out there to this day. That’s all because Columbus did not travel across the entire globe. Thanks SS Santa Maria for sinking.
9. No one knows what the holiday’s namesake looked like – There are actually no true portraits of Christopher Columbus. That would explain why our history books in school tried to avoid putting pictures of the man himself in there.
10. Columbus Day was established in Colorado… and San Francisco – Colorado was the first state to celebrate Columbus Day in the early 1900s. San Francisco had actually started celebrating it as an Italian-American heritage day back in 1869. That means none of us were born when the holiday was originally established… wow!

All in all, Columbus Day is an important holiday in American history. Columbus himself might not have been everybody’s favorite voyager, but there is no question that history would look vitally different had he not set foot in the Americas in the 1400s, and these 10 Columbus Day facts certainly prove that.