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Columbus Day is celebrated during the second Monday in October, Christopher Columbus' arrived in the Americas October 12, 1492. This is a controversial holiday due to the European
settling in the Americas leading to the downfall of the culture and history of the indigenous native Americans
.
Christopher Columbus is typically depicted as being the very first European to set foot on the Americas.
He is typically depicted as discovering the New World. Although, evidence exists that the very first Europeans to cross the Atlantic were Vikings from Scandinavia. Also, the region was populated by indigenous Americans already, having 'discovered' the Americas many thousands of years previously.
Celebrations of Columbus Day are contentious because a consequence of the Europeans settling in the Americas caused the passing of a significant part of the native Americans.
The argument is that it was a direct consequence of the actions by Columbus. History makes clear that European settlers arriving led to the end of a huge proportion of culture and the history of the indigenous Americas. The argument has also been made that Columbus shouldn't be honored for the discovery of the U.S, as he only discovered some Caribbean islands and never went into mainland America.
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