COLUMBUS DAY (OCTOBER)

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

On the second Monday of October Americans celebrate Columbus Day to remember Christopher Columbus voyage to America in 1492.

Columbus was born in Genoa in 1451, in his time it was believed that the world was flat, but Columbus believed it was round.

He moved to Portugal when he was 23, he wanted to go to India, China and Japan by sailing west. If the world was round it was possible.



But he needed money, ships and men, so he asked the kings of Portugal, France and England but he got no help.

Finally the king Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of "Spain" decided to help him.
They gave him three ships: the Santa María, the Niña (whose real name was Santa Clara) and the Pinta.
On the 3rd of August they left Spain.

They finally arrived to the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas on 12 October 1492.
Even though he discovered a new continent, Columbus died without being conscious of it, he made other 3 trips to America, and died poor and forgotten in Valladolid on May 1506.

CELEBRATING COLUMBUS DAY IN THE USA

The USA is usally know as the melting pot, due to its huge number of inmigrants coming from different countries around the world, amongst them the Italian people who celebrate the life and discoveries of  Christopher Columbus since 1792.
Since then, Columbus Day is considered a national holiday in the US, and many Americans celebrate it with colourful parades.

Here you have some videos about New York's annual Columbus Day parade in the 5th Avenue:

Enjoy Columbus Day!!!