More about “Home”. . .

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue . . . 

We have just celebrated Columbus Day. It seems there has been an effort by some to do away with Columbus Day, by suggesting the holiday be renamed as “Indigenous Day.”

Doing away with Columbus Day would be doing away with part of the history of our homeland, America. Christopher Columbus played an important role in that history. The little rhyme above is one I learned in elementary school—to help me remember . . .

Would we even be here if Columbus had not set out with his three ships (the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria), to sail the ocean and find a short sail route to the Indies?

According to historians, Columbus believed he could reach the West Indies by sailing directly west, rather than the route others had taken (around the coast of Africa). When he and his crew sighted land (by moonlight at 2:00 A. M. on October 12), they thought they had reached India. They landed on the beach before noon, took possession, and called the people there Indians.

But it wasn’t India they sighted, it was an island in the Bahamas. This was the discovery of what eventually became known as the New World. Which includes this great land in which we live. We can be thankful for those historians, those writers, who recorded these important facts—so that we might know.

A national holiday named in honor of Christopher Columbus helps us remember this important part of the history of our great country. Remembering and honoring all indigenous peoples is important, but let us not wipe away our history in the process.

Grace and peace to you,

Mary Emma