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CHAPTER ONE

Columbus Day

The second Monday of October is Columbus Day! This festivity is celebrated only in the United States of America. Why?

During Christopher Columbus’ time people thought the world was flat. Columbus was born in Genoa, a beautiful Italian city on the north-west coast. For many years he watched ships leave the port of Genoa. He noticed that these ships seemed to go under the horizon. He was convinced that the world was round, but no one believed him. He wanted to reach the East by sailing to the West. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain believed Columbus’ theory. They gave him three ships, the Santa Maria, the Nina and the Pinta to travel and test this theory.

Columbus was an expert navigator. After a long and difficult voyage, he and his men reached the North American continent on 12 October, 1492! The famous Italian explorer discovered the New World! After his great discovery a new era of exploration began and America was born.

Today most Americans celebrate Columbus Day with colourful parades and they elect a Columbus Day Queen. The parade is usually long with big floats dedicated to Columbus and there are other multi-cultural floats too. After the parade there is usually a dinner and dance.

In San Francisco, California, there is also a re-enactment of Columbus’ discovery. A man dresses up as Columbus and several other men dress up as his sailors. They get into a boat and row to the beach. When they get out of their boat they kneel on the beach and thank God.

Americans enjoy remembering the great navigator!