Christopher Columbus in "The Columbus Lighthouse" ("Faro a Colón"), in Santo Domingo. The anniversary of Columbus's 1492 landing in the Americas is usually observed on 12 October in Spain and throughout the Americas, except Canada. In Spain it is called the "Fiesta Nacional de España y Día de la Hispanidad", while a number of countries in Latin America celebrate it as "Día de la Raza". In the United States it is called Columbus Day and is observed annually on the second Monday in October. There are efforts in the US to rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples' Day. The World Columbian Exposition
Columbus Day other events, but shops and businesses are closed as with other bank holidays. The observation is generally overshadowed by the feast dayof Our Lady of the Pillar(Fiestas del Pilar). This holiday was been declared a religious feast day throughout the Spanish Empire in 1730. In recent years, celebration of the holiday has faced some opposition from various organizations. Opposition to Columbus Day dates back to at least the 19th century, when anti-immigrant nativists (see Know Nothings) sought to eliminate its celebration because of its association with immigrants from the Catholic countries of Ireland and Italy, and the American Catholic fraternal