October 12 is the day I recognize as being the celebration of Columbus Day, going back to Miss DiPietro's class in second grade.
It was taught to me almost as a song:
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.
Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.
Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
As happens along the way, the day is forgotten except for the commercialism of the sales.
Where the date used to be celebrated on it's actual day, it's gotten displaced to a position of second Monday of October, after all we certainly wouldn't want to interfere with something that came years after-wards, the Supreme Court.
If children are taught anything about Columbus Day or even that long voyage of discovery, it's been somewhat tainted with claims of religious freedom, ethnic pride, European persecution, and on it goes.
The innocence of the song and the story it tells are probably long forgotten. A trip hundreds of years ago, means very little in the general scheme of life, it's just another day off for some, and the true significance of the day almost forgotten except for those that still remember the song: In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
I still remember today as Columbus Day, maybe I'll call someone and go out for lunch, and then maybe see what's left over from the sales.
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