Columbus Day is a federal holiday celebrated the 2nd Monday of October to celebrate the "achievements" of explorer Christopher Columbus when he "discovered" the Americas in October of 1492. However, he wasn't the first person to discover the Americas; that credit goes to a Norse explorer by the name of Lief Erikson. Erikson discovered the Americas in 1001 AD after landing in present-day Newfoundland, nearly 500 years before. Columbus didn't even set foot in the major part of the Americas, instead landing on an island, and enslaved many indigenous people. Leif Erikson, however, never did that. Leif Erikson landed in Canada, and may have sailed all the way to New York Harbor, but we don't know that part for sure. So, if Erikson was the real discoverer of the Americas, why is his name not known to many people? There are two main reasons for this:

1) Lief Erikson was a viking, and during the middle ages vikings were not liked in Europe. Seeing as how Columbus was a European, people were more welcoming of his accomplishment than Erikson's.

and

2) During the 1800's, Italian-Americans were heavily persecuted in the United States. Christopher Columbus was believed to be an Italian at this time (DNA testing now suggests he wasn't), so Columbus Day was made a federal holiday to help make Italians-Americans feel more welcome. Columbus Day also doubles as a day to celebrate Italian heritage in the United States.

Celebrating Italian heritage is a great thing, but Columbus Day shouldn't be involved with it. Instead, Columbus Day should not be a federal holiday, and should be changed to Italian Heritage Day, while Lief Erikson Day should be changed to a Federal Holiday. This will also give an oppurtunity to celebrate Norse heritage. Lief Erikson deserves better, so let's give him the respect he deserves.