13 哥伦布日 Columbus Day

Columbus Day is a special holiday all across the Americas. Countries in North, Central and South America celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October the 12th, 1492. In the United States, the day is called Columbus Day; in many Latin American countries, it is known as Día de la Raza (Day of the Race). The day is also celebrated in Spain, where people call it National Day. These holidays are over two hundred years old and are a deep part of many cultures. Not everyone is happy about these celebrations. Most indigenous cultures all across the Americas recognize the day as the start of the erosion of their cultures. The day for them represents the invasion of their land by Europeans.

Christopher Columbus was an Italian adventurer who lived in the fifteenth century. He believed that the Earth was not flat, as most people thought at that time. He asked the Spanish queen, Isabelle, for financial help to sail around the world. He wanted to prove the Earth was round. He also believed there was a “new world” full of spices and treasures. At that time, he thought that new world, west of Italy, was India. On August 3, 1492, he sailed west on his ship the Santa Maria. After two months he found land and called it San Salvador. He thought it was India and the people he met were Indians. That’s why today, Caribbean islands are known as the West Indies and native Americans were called American Indians. The “New World” is today’s U.S.A.

世界心理健康日哥伦布日，又称哥伦比亚日（英语：Columbus Day），是一些美洲国家的节日，用以纪念克里斯托弗·哥伦布于1492年由欧洲横渡大西洋，「发现」美洲「新大陆」。在美国，多数银行、学校于该日放假。

哥伦布日为10月12日或10月的第二个星期一，当天正是哥伦布在1492年登上美洲大陆的日子。

哥伦布日是美国于1792年首先发起的，当时正是哥伦布发现美洲300週年的纪念日。后来在1893年，芝加哥举办了哥伦布展览会，并举办了盛大的纪念活动。从此，每年的10月12日，美国大多数州会举办活动以示纪念。而这个习俗亦开始传遍整个美洲，现在不论北美洲、南美洲，还是加勒比海地区的国家都会在哥伦布日举行纪念活动。

虽然哥伦布为欧洲人开启了殖民美洲的大门，但对当地的原住民印地安人来讲则是受到侵略的开始。这是一个悲哀的日子，因为他们的生活从此被彻底改变：疾病、失去土地、战争，不但令大量印第安人死亡，更令他们无法自给自足，成为美国社会的底层，甚至被当作不存在。所以每年到了这一天，不少印第安人都会举行活动抗议殖民统治。哥伦布日在美国的一些局部左派思想地域，如加州伯克利，被称为“原住民日”。委内瑞拉从2002年开始把这个节日称作“原住民抵抗日”