The Day They Tried to Steal Someone Else’s Holiday

They said he didn’t belong here.

The crowd that gathered outside his small home didn’t see an honest man or a hardworking immigrant — they saw a foreigner. They called him names, spat on him, and shouted that he should go back where he came from. His only crime was being Italian. Before the night ended, he was dragged through the dirt and left hanging from a tree.

That was America for Italian and Irish immigrants in the late 1800s. They were the outsiders — despised, mocked, and brutalized for their faith, their language, and the color of their skin. Politicians used them as scapegoats, newspapers painted them as criminals, and mobs treated them like animals.

But in the middle of all that hate, a group of Catholic immigrants decided they weren’t going to take it lying down. They formed a brotherhood called the Knights of Columbus, an organization built to protect their community, help their families survive, and give them pride in who they were.

They chose the name Columbus for a reason. Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, had become a symbol of courage and determination — the kind of man who dared to go where no one else would. These immigrants saw something of themselves in him. They weren’t claiming perfection; they were claiming hope. He was their hero — not for what he did to others, but for what his journey represented to them.

Over time, their celebrations of Columbus became bigger, more organized, and more meaningful. It wasn’t about conquering anyone. It was about belonging. It was a way for people who had been told they were worthless to stand tall and say, “We matter too.”

Eventually, their movement reached Washington. In 1937, after decades of petitions and parades, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Columbus Day a federal holiday — making official what the Knights of Columbus had already made sacred. For the first time in American history, the sons and daughters of Italy and Ireland could celebrate a national holiday that honored their struggles, their faith, and their place in America.

But now, decades later, that hard-earned holiday is being ripped away — replaced by Indigenous Peoples’ Day, built on a myth and fueled by resentment.

Yes, Columbus was a tyrant. History is clear on that. He ruled harshly and committed wrongs against people in the Caribbean and Central America. But here’s what the protesters won’t tell you: Columbus never set foot in what is now the United States, Canada, or Mexico. None of his actions took place on this land. The Indigenous people of America were never his victims.

Yet, the movement to erase his holiday continues — built on the false claim that Columbus “discovered America” and then slaughtered its native inhabitants. It’s a lie that’s been repeated so many times it’s taken root in the minds of millions. And worse, it’s being used as justification to steal a holiday that was never theirs to begin with.

This isn’t about Columbus anymore. It’s about rewriting history to serve a political agenda — and trampling on the memory of immigrants who fought for dignity in a country that once hated them.

If Indigenous people want a holiday to honor their ancestors, that’s fair. America has room for that. But taking someone else’s isn’t fairness. It’s theft. And it’s time someone said so.

Because Columbus Day was never about conquest. It was about courage. It wasn’t about discovery. It was about dignity.

And that’s something worth defending.

The Jentile Opinion

Truth. Reason. Courage.