Discovery of America Day in 2025

When is Discovery of America Day?

The date of Columbus' arrival in the Americas is celebrated in Honduras as the Discovery of America Day.

The traditional date is October 12th. In October, there are another two public holidays and in 2014, they were moved to the last week in October to create one long holiday period. The rainy season made travel difficult during this time and in 2015. the October holidays were moved to the first week in October, with Discovery of America Day being observed on Thursday October 8th 2015.

This practice of bundling the October holidays earlier in the month continues today.

History of Discovery of America Day

The day commemorates the date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas.

Columbus' voyages across the Atlantic Ocean initiated the European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

While the first voyage in 1492 was immensely significant, Columbus did not actually reach the American mainland until his 3rd voyage in 1498. Instead, while trying to find a sea route to India, he made landfall on an island in the Bahamas that he named San Salvador.

He was also not the earliest European explorer to reach the Americas.