Columbus Day, celebrated since 1792 and as a federal holiday since 1937, evolved from a remembrance of the discovery of lands of the Western Hemisphere into a celebration of all things Italian because the discoverer, Christopher Columbus, was an Italian from Genoa working for the king and queen of Spain.

The decision of the Cambridge City Council to designate Oct. 12 instead as "Indigenous Peoples Day," as several cities have done, consigns this bit of Italian-American heritage to the bottom drawer of history's filing cabinet.

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Source: http://www.bostonherald.com/