Today, Monday, October 13, marks another holiday in the U.S.: Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which is celebrated as an alternative to Columbus Day, is typically observed on the second Monday in October.
Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1937, after an effort by Roman Catholic Italian Americans, who were then members of a particularly stigmatized ethnic and religious group. Members of the group campaigned to make Columbus Day a holiday to celebrate Italian explorer Christoper Columbus’s arrival in America from Spain in 1492.
However, many states and cities have since decided to rename the holiday in honor of the Indigenous communities who already lived in the Americas before his arrival, and call attention to the violence committed against Native Americans since Columbus and his crews arrived on shore.
In 2021, former U.S. President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. He said in a statement that the day is meant to “honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today.”
Although Indigenous Peoples’ Day is not a federal holiday, Columbus Day is, and they both fall on the same day. This means all banks will be closed today. Online banking and ATMs will be accessible.
The stock market and the United States Postal Service will also be closed.
However, the holiday doesn’t guarantee that all workers around the U.S. will get the day off. It is up to individual employers to decide whether they offer time off or additional pay for work on federal holidays.
Find the list in full below:
New Year’s Day: Wednesday, January 1
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Monday, January 20
Inauguration Day: Monday, January 20
Presidents’ Day: Monday, February 17
Memorial Day: Monday, May 26
Juneteenth National Independence Day: Thursday, June 19
Independence Day: Friday, July 4
Labor Day: Monday, September 1
Indigenous Peoples’ Day (also observed as Columbus Day): Monday, October 13
Veterans Day: Tuesday, November 11
Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 27
Christmas Day: Thursday, December 25
Other important days to note:
Valentine’s Day: Friday, February 14
St. Patrick’s Day: Monday, March 17
April Fools’ Day: Tuesday, April 1
Good Friday: Friday, April 18
Easter: Sunday, April 20
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