Columbus Day

In 1492 a Genovese name Christopher Columbus set sail to prove to his skeptics that the world was indeed round and not flat like was popularly believed.  Notice I don't refer to him as an Italian because back then there really wasn't a unified Country called Italy yet.   Columbus was from the Province of Genoa, thus the term Genovese.  No one believed him, so he went to Spain to the Court of King Phillip and Queen Isabella who bankrolled the Genovese in his efforts.  You see Spain was on a global land grab and was stopping at nothing to expand their Empire.   Now all of this is common knowledge here in the US; we are taught about it in Elementary School and Middle School.  The issue I have is this; why do we in the United States celebrate Columbus Day?  Actually no one but the Banks, Post Office, Local, State and Federal Governments celebrate Columbus Day.  Columbus never set foot in North America, he discovered Central America and the Caribbean.  El Salvador, parts of Cuba, Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and parts of South America.   He was also responsible for the deaths of 15 million natives and the introduction of slavery into the European way of thinking.   Yes, let's be so proud of good 'ol Chris.   Heck the only thing that came of his "discovering of America" is that we get Cities named after him and some of the best Salami to be made comes from the Columbus Salami Company in San Francisco.