The United States embassy of Colombia will remain closed to the public on Monday in honor of “Columbus Day.”
The U.S. doors will not be open to the public on Monday nor will it offer its usual services in commemoration of the annual celebration of Columbus Day.
In honor of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the American continent on October 12, 1492, the U.S. created the holiday of Columbus Day.
It was officially promoted throughout the Americas in 1892 by a Spanish politician in light of the 400 years since Christopher Columbus’ unfortunate navigational error. But, it was not until 1912 that most of Latin America commenced to enthusiastically enforce the holiday.
Though people have celebrated Columbus’ voyage since the colonial period, the U.S. made it a federal holiday in 1937 and Congress then changed the celebration of the official holiday date in 1971 to the second Monday of every October.