Reply #8: Because the Italian-American community holds onto this tradition

[Book Lover]

I should say first that I don't know what it's like in places where there are no Italians, Italian-Americans, or where the old world traditions are dead: it's my assumption there are plenty of places that "celebrate" Columbus Day not as a point of Italian-American pride but out of generalized habit. I'm not talking about those places. Italian-Americans originally celebrated Columbus Day as a counterpoint to St. Patrick's Day, as a day of our cultural pride. Someday maybe we can shift this to (my favorite choice) celebrating the day of Dante's birth, since Dante gave us our language, and Columbus didn't even do his work for Italy, but for Spain, but old Italian men are traditionally hide-bound. I'm working on it...