Columbus Day "did you know?"

Happy Columbus Day!

Did you realize today is a Federal Holiday?

I suppose if you work for a bank or the U.S. Postal Service you do.  

But, for many of us, today is a normal work day.

Why do we celebrate today?

"Celebrate" may not be the right word.  I don't know of anyone who says "What are your plans for Columbus Day?!"

Do you?

Many people sadly do not know the reason for the holiday, other than the name Christopher Columbus.  We all know he is the one who landed here, officially "discovering" America.

Did you know that TODAY is the day in history that he actually landed here?

October 12, 1492.  He sailed from Spain with his crews in the "Nina", "Pinta", and the "Santa Maria".

To be more exact, he landed in the Bahamas.

So, do you know WHY it was offically named "America" and not "Columbus"?

During the late 1400's and early 1500's, another explorer named Amerigo Vespucci explored the area that would later be known as South America, although it was after Christopher Columbus.  Vespucci sent a letter to a friend, explaining his discovery, who then gave it to a German mapmaker.  The mapmaker named the new land America after Amerigo.  Once the mapmaker realized his mistake, it was too late.  The maps had already been distributed all over Europe. 

So, the name stuck.  Welcome to AMERICA!

credit: certain parts of this article originally printed in @Creative Forcasting October 2015