Columbus Day in Virginia
 

As of this past week we no longer celebrate Columbus Day in Virginia. BUT it will still remain a state PAID holiday. Why? Why be paid not to work in the middle of October?

Now Indigenous People's Day....

:confused:
Because THIS country ways are changing all around us faster then we can understand it..

it's never easy to take something away from people...I'd guess that Columbus Day was one of the designated holidays in the union contract with state employees

Poor Chris.

The govt of Va is getting more and more ridiculous.

Still amazed the current governor survived his scandals especially being photographed in blackface..

I remember two February holidays; we celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday and George Washington's birthday. Now it is President's Day. Also November 11 was once Armistice Day; it became Veteran's Day.

To ask them to give up something, a paid holiday, to show support for indians is asking too much.

Paid holidays are part of negotiated labor contracts. It takes another negotiation to remove same. Covered workers are generally reluctant to lose a "benefit" regardless of the reason.

I am thankful for Columbus for ensuring that western Europeans were the ones to civilize this great continent as opposed to the Chinese or Arabs. The idea that a vast landmass with unlimited natural resources would go undiscovered and exploited is utter fantasy. History is proof of that.

And I wonder if the Indigenous Day also honors the Aztecs who practiced cannibalism and human sacrifices on a mass scale. Or the Comanche and other Indian tribes who committed the most horrific torture practices on fellow natives that no westerner could ever conceive of.

We should be very thankful that the United States has been the most influential country in the advancement of human rights and freedoms that history has ever known and was critical in ending the scourges of Nazi Germany and communism. Of course our ancestors were not perfect but we have created a country that billions of people of all races today want to leave their place of birth to resettle here.

I hate to imagine a world without the USA. Thank you Columbus.

I had a house in Virginia years ago. I guess they no longer celebrate Lee Jackson King day.

Not a chance anymore. VA has been taken over by comeheres that proceeded to change it to what they want. They are offended by everything.

But it is getting time for the working person, that is without government benefits, to be rewarded. The government should pay EVERYBODY their days wage not to work for their man made holidays.

It is now just a day on the calendar

There are alternatives:

National Savings Day
National Vermont Day
National Freethought Day
National Farmer’s Day
National Gumbo Day
National Online Bank Day
National Kick Butt Day

I'm going with Gumbo

Unions nationwide get this

Indigenous people's day ..... what are we coming to ???? Is it guilty conscience? Or hating Columbus for his treatment of those "indigenous people" who, by the way, weren't what we consider American Indians. Actually, it was Leif Ericcson who supposedly was the first European to step foot on the North American continent.
Today's contemporaries hate Columbus for enslaving the Caribbean natives, but back then, it was an acceptable practice to conquer and enslave.....a practice since time immemorial. It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that slavery became an undesirable practice. They weren't needed, since machines were more efficient.
Honor Christopher Columbus for his courage in sailing into the unknown in order to find more trade routes to the Orient. He had no idea what was ahead, but faced danger and hardships in his quest.
Washington's birthday used to be a holiday.....now it's President's day.
Easter is for candy and the Easter Bunny....not celebrated for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Christmas is for shopping....not for the birth of Christ.
Pretty soon, the 4th of July will be whitewashed for something else.
It's all about changing and obliterating our history.....we need to "cleanse the minds" of the younger generation in order to bring about the new enslavement of mankind.
Wake up !!! Teach your children and grandchildren what really happened for us to become a great nation. No guilt.....no shame..... but pride and respect for those who came before us.

Happy Columbus Day everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving Day to the Canadians.

Schools are not really teaching our history anymore but when they do they revise everything to paint us in a bad light.

Jesus Christ was not born at Christmas time it was a convenient time taken from Paganism.

How Christmas Was Stolen From The Pagans
How Christmas Was Stolen From The Pagans - UNILAD

To clarify, Washington's Birthday is still a Federal holiday.

Probably even more difficult and risky than going to Mars today.

When I lived in and around D.C. from 1965-1970 the biggest retail sales of the year were held on GW's birthday. These predated Black Friday sales by many years.

As a Federal employee, we all looked forward to a 3 day weekend. It’s a US Federal holiday.

But it’s not just Virginia. The university where I taught in Pennsylvania got rid of Columbus Day five or six years ago. I think a lot of states that used to have Columbus Day Have gotten rid of it.

From Wikipedia: “Actual observance varies in different parts of the United States, ranging from large-scale parades and events to complete non-observance. Most states do not celebrate Columbus Day as an official state holiday.Some mark it as a "Day of Observance" or "Recognition.” Most states that celebrate Columbus Day will close state services, while others operate as normal.”

Columbus Day is more vigorously observed in areas with a lot of descendants of Italian immigrants, but even they are less interested these days. There are large parts of the U.S. where Italian-Americans are uncommon.

I think Columbus was a horrible person, a butcher, whose actions led to partial genocide, but I also revere him for his role in the discovery and conquest of the Americas, both north and south, and the islands nearby.

John, Indigenous people of American have not been call Indians for a very , very , long time. Also your sentence make no sense.

Some states and local governments have combined Washington and Lincoln's birthdays into one holiday and named it Presidents Day. But, the Federal Government has always had only one holiday in February, Washington's Birthday. There is no Federal holiday for President's day or for Lincoln's birthday.

So, when the Italian, C. Columbus, sailed for Ferdinand and Isabella and landed in what is now the Bahamas in 1492, claiming the land for Spain, the USA was founded? I have wrongly attributed said founding to the signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

My summer home is in Virginia. The state has made massive changes that have made the Commonwealth a great place to live!

This year we were able to vote in person early. We could have voted by mail. The elections run smoothly. We don't have hanging chads. We don't have legislators acting to disenfranchise citizens that the vast majority of Floridians supported. Whenever a legislator or court moves to disenfranchise anyone, it is a disservice to all of us. We all live here. We all deserve to vote. I thank the legislature of Virginia for moving in the direction of allowing more people to vote. I keep thinking of those new democracies in Africa where citizens line up for hours for the right to vote and then proudly show their thumb which was dipped in ink to show they did vote.

As for Indiginous People's Day, it is a holiday! The Canadians call the original people of this continent, First People's. I think it is a marvelous name!

Instead of rebuking all change, why not accept the fact that nothing in this world is constant...but change? It is how we create a more perfect union, a better place to live.

When I went to grad school in Washington, DC, it was apparent that the laws of Virginia were from the 17th century and had not changed much. Now, the state is moving to the 21st Century with broad support of its citizenry. I am now proud to live here.

By the way, most all of our holidays have changed so that they fall on a Monday or Friday. That was done to allow us to spend more money on holiday or just to go shopping. In reading this thread, I didn't hear too much grumbling about the day changes. So what gives?

In New Mexico many if not most in conversation still identify themselves as Indians, or at least the hundreds if not thousands I have known, encountered and/or done business with over the last 70 years do. I usually refer to them as American Indians as I find the term "Aboriginal" repugnant and Native American misdescriptive. Moreover their ancestors migrated from Asia and may not have been the first group of humans to immigrate so they may have displaced earlier immigrants. Humans did not evolve on this continent. IMHO a person is native to where he is born.

" 'Indigenous peoples' is a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. Often, 'Aboriginal peoples' is also used. The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal peoples: Indians (more commonly referred to as First Nations), Inuit and Métis.Dec 4, 2017"

Indigenous peoples and communities

Mexicans I know still refer to American Indians as "Indios" - and not disrespectfully so. Urban Dictionary: Indio

"American Indian or Native Americans?

The name Indian was given to the native people of America by the explorer, Christopher Columbus. Each tribe probably had a name for itself, but did not have a name for themselves as a race of people.
Today several names are used to refer to the native peoples of America, including Indians, American Indians, Native Americans, native people, First People, Amerinds, and Amerindians. The first names are used generally, and the last two are used academically.
Most tribes tend to refer to themselves by tribal affiliation: Seminole, Miccosukee, etc., and not as a whole race of people.
In this workbook, the early people of Florida will be referred to as “native people” or “Indian people.” Many tribes died out before America became America, so the term “American Indian” is not always appropriate."

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp...Guide-Full.pdf

We just moved here after spending 30 years in Va and yes the state has changed.

It went from a red state to a blue one as there has been a massive influx of new residents in N Virginia that has changed the state to one we barely recognize today.

One of my maternal uncles worked at Ft. Eustis and lived in Newport News and Hampton, VA from the 1940s until the 1990s. An aunt lived in Roanoke. I lived in Alexandria in the late 1960s and loved it but VA has gone down the tubes. The urban Northern Neck runs the whole state (not unlike TV running otherwise rural Sumter County). The remainder of the state is not happy about it, either.

You’d better let the Bureau of Indian Affairs know that. See bia dot gov

Beat me to it.:bigbow:

New Mexico has an Indian Affairs Department. NM Indian Affairs Department |

This was one of my favorite tunes back in the day. George Jones*****(Eskimo Pie) - YouTube

and another. Running Bear Little White Dove Lyrics (Johnny Preston) - YouTube

I will still call it Columbus Day.

"...I lived in Alexandria in the late 1960s and loved it but VA has gone down the tubes. The urban Northern Neck runs the whole state..." a quote from a commentator on this thread.

Just as a matter of clarification, the Northern Neck is not urban. It is actually quite rural. I think you mean Northern Virginia which has grown with highly educated, high income and compassionate people who care about their fellow human. It would seem that comments based upon experiences of a half century ago are not really very valid.

Virginia is a marvelous place...from its urban/suburban north to the capital area of Richmond to the rural areas of the Southwest (where the coal mines have not come back despite promises made and broken).

Anyone who comments upon Virginia without recent experience here in this great state is really just expressing an unfounded opinion. It is a state that is changing to meet the needs of its citizens!

Jesus Christ was not born at Christmas time it was a convenient time taken from Paganism.

True. The timing was a convenient way for Christians to celebrate so that they would not be significantly noticed, as the pagans were having their good time too. I don't think anyone knows when Christ was born. What I was trying to say is that the intent of the original holiday(s) is being obfuscated by contempary progressive mouthpieces.

To clarify, Washington's Birthday is still a Federal holiday.[/QUOTE]

Yes, but it's called "President's Day".

Fixed your post so it makes sense. I love irony.


John, Indigenous people of American have not been called Indians for a very, very, long time. Also, your sentence makes no sense.

You are correct. I intended Northern Virginia.

Well, I am glad this statue was moved to another location as I remember what a pain it was driving around it. Alexandria's Confederate Statue Removed from Old Town Intersection - Alexandria Living Magazine

I am sorry to see Collingwood was demolished as I enjoyed going there for dinner in its restaurant. Historic Collingwood Estate to be Demolished - Alexandria Living Magazine

Humans are not native to America and therefore there cannot be any "native" Americans. Nor can there be any "indigenous" Americans since that term means "originating from", and paleontologists agree that the first humans on this continent came over the Bering land bridge from Asia 16,000 years ago. So the correct name should be First Settlers.

Of course, as with ANY part of this planet's land mass over the millennia, people migrate, fight, and take over areas from others.Nothing different here from the Huns sacking Rome, the Vikings raiding Britain, or the Spanish invading South and Central America. Get over it. We all came from Africa.

Happy Columbus day everyone. What a beautiful day today it was in the Villages :) Had one of the best days of golf in my life today at Malory. It’s all good!