Reasons Why not all Businesses are closed on Columbus' Day

Opened on Columbus' Day

The national holiday, known as Columbus' Day, is the day most individuals recognize as the day that Christopher Columbus discovered America or they were taught at an earlier age that he was the first to find it only to discover later on in life that he wasn't the righteous hero that he is painted out to be by optimistic history books.

As a kid, Christopher Columbus is spoken with high regard.  Simply, the explorer bravely set sail with his three ships named Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria in August 1492 in search of riches for Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain. His main quest was set to Asia, but the brilliant navigator couldn't have foreseen how big his iconic his trip became. 

Columbus found a valuable asset more treasured than gold itself.  He discovered a new land rather than the silk road he was funded to search for.  While he found new land, he did not discover it. The reality is America was already inhabited by the Native Americans, and he did not actually stumble upon the mainland which he originally assumed to be the eastern world.  It is later revealed, in our adult lives, that Columbus had a dark past which included pillaging, destroying, and murdering the inhabitants of the land he arrived on. 

Regardless, he did bring change to the world with his accidental innovation.  He brought forth a spark that pushed for times to evolve into the society that is formed today.   The United States continues to celebrate this holiday because he took a risk. The beauty of his legacy is that not everyone agrees that he is a hero or an iconic explorer.  For this reason, some businesses remain open to value his risk, but at the same time, understand that his day marks a change. 

Christopher Columbus did, whether celebrated or hated, revolutionize the world with his celebrated blunder.