Columbus Day "Día de la Raza" to "Día del Encuentro de las Culturas" (Day of the Encounter of Cultures) to recognize the mix of European, Native American (autochthonous populations), African and Asian cultures that constitute modern Costa Rican (and Latin American) culture and ethnicity. In accordance to the Costa Rican labor law, the holiday is observed on October 12. However, should this date coincide with a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, the employer shall agree that said holiday be postponed to the following Monday. In Brazil, Columbus Day is not celebrated. Instead, the country celebrates the arrival on the coast of present-day
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