On the morning of Monday, October 12, I received a notification from my banking app. It said that today is Columbus Day, so the money transfer would be delayed by a day.

However, on the same day, the calendar for the local public schools had a completely different name listed. Having two names for the same day is quite amusing in this country.

In fact, this month was a bit special in terms of dates. The second Monday of October in 2026 happens to fall on October 12.

October 12, 1492, is the day Columbus and his crew first landed on an island in the Caribbean. It was a year when the holiday date coincided exactly with the actual anniversary.

This holiday wasn't always on a Monday. Originally, it was celebrated on October 12 itself.

With the passage of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968, which took effect in 1971, it was changed to the second Monday. It was a very practical idea to create a three-day weekend.

If we trace the roots further back, the story becomes heavy. In March 1891, 11 Italian men in New Orleans were lynched by a mob that stormed the jail.

This incident led Italy to recall its ambassador, and the relationship between the two countries soured significantly. The U.S. government eventually paid compensation to the victims' families.

The following year, in 1892, President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's landing. At that time, it was a one-time event.

It became a regular federal holiday starting in 1937 when President Franklin Roosevelt made the proclamation. The Catholic organization Knights of Columbus had long pushed for this.

So, Columbus Day is tied to the process of an immigrant group that faced discrimination being recognized as part of society. I believe that without this context, one would only see half of the story.

Let's also touch on the history of the other name. Indigenous Peoples' Day was first proposed by a delegation of Indigenous representatives at a UN-sponsored conference in Geneva in 1977.

This proposal was not immediately accepted. It began to gain traction when the Berkeley City Council in California officially adopted the name in 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus's landing.

A significant change at the federal level occurred in 2021 when President Biden became the first president to officially proclaim Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Interestingly, Biden also issued a separate proclamation for Columbus Day. So, two proclamations were released on the same date.

New York City public schools named the day Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day instead of Columbus Day in the 2021 school calendar. Initially, they only listed Indigenous Peoples' Day, but after backlash, they added Italian Heritage Day at the front.

Italian organizations protested vigorously at that time. Some Indigenous activists also expressed discomfort with the idea of splitting the date. It was a compromise that failed to satisfy either side.

At that time, the governor stated that Columbus Day would remain a public holiday in New York State. In fact, a parade featuring the Italian flag waves down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan every year.

The current stance of the White House is very clear. President Trump issued a proclamation for Columbus Day again this year, designating October 12 as Columbus Day.

The 2025 proclamation made no mention of Indigenous Peoples' Day at all. This year, it emphasized the Columbus statue erected on the White House grounds and the contributions of Italian Americans.

So, which side am I on? To be honest, I lean towards keeping the name Columbus Day.

The reason is simple. If we erase historical figures based on today's standards, we also erase the memories of the immigrant communities that were established through those figures.

This doesn't mean that Columbus and his crew left no scars on Indigenous peoples. That is a fact recorded in history, and I believe it should be taught properly in schools.

However, I don't think the way to correct that is by taking away the existing name. If we want to honor Indigenous history, it would be much more productive to elevate November as Native American Heritage Month.

Coming from the perspective of an immigrant to this country, it resonates more. We Korean Americans will eventually have our own commemorative day in this society, but how hollow would it be if that name changed with the political winds?

That said, I'm not suggesting we only tell one side of the story. At this year's holiday gathering, I brought up both the 1891 New Orleans incident and the 1977 Geneva story.

Surprisingly, everyone listened seriously. Once they understood the reason for the two names, they found the day even more interesting.

Why not bring it up yourself? No matter what name is written on the calendar for the second Monday in October next year, knowing the stories behind those names will definitely make the holiday feel different.