They wanted to celebrate holidays, not debate them. But as Palo Alto officials prepare to adopt policies to formally recognize Juneteenth, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Day and to commemorate days of remembrance for the Holocaust and Armenian genocide, they are running into a thorny question: What should they call the second Monday in October?

That question prompted some head-scratching in March among members of the City Council, who ultimately opted to punt it to the city's Human Relations Commission. Last month, the commission similarly split over the question and agreed to resume the discussion this month.