Is Columbus Day a Florida holiday? What to know about legal holidays in

Columbus Day is a legal holiday in Florida, which means if you work for the state, you may have the day off.

The state of Florida recognizes 21 legal holidays for which state offices are closed. The state also lists 35 other days, weeks and months that have been designated or proclaimed as public holidays, with varying suggestions for observance.

Here’s when Columbus Day is and a list of Florida’s official holidays according to the state statutes.

Is Columbus Day a holiday in Florida? What is Columbus Day celebrated for?

Columbus Day always falls on the second Monday of October. This year, Columbus Day falls on Monday, Oct. 14.

Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day are separate holidays and both fall on the second Monday of October. Columbus Day commemorates Christopher Columbus’s arrival in North America in October of 1942. But in more recent history, many choose to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead, which aims to take the attention off of colonizers and place it on the colonized.

What is Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

“Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been gaining popularity as a replacement for Columbus Day since the late 1980s. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on the second Monday of October and honors the Indigenous communities that have lived in the Americas for thousands of years,” According to U.S. News and World Report.

“It celebrates Native American culture, history, and contributions to American society. It also aims to correct a ‘whitewashed’ American history that has glorified Europeans like Columbus.”

What are Florida’s state holidays? Pascua Florida Day, Confederate Memorial Day, Sundays

How many legal holidays are there in Florida?

The legal holidays, when state offices may be closed, are the following:

Sunday, the first day of each week.
New Year’s Day, Jan. 1.
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 15.
Birthday of Robert E. Lee, Jan. 19.
Lincoln’s Birthday, Feb. 12.
Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday, Feb. 15.
Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February.
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter.
Pascua Florida Day, April 2.
Confederate Memorial Day, April 26.
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
Birthday of Jefferson Davis, June 3.
Flag Day, June 14.
Independence Day, July 4.
Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
Columbus Day and Farmers’ Day, the second Monday in October.
Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11.
General Election Day, first Tuesday in November.
Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.
Christmas Day, Dec. 25.
Shrove Tuesday, sometimes also known as “Mardi Gras,” in counties where carnival associations are organized for the purpose of celebrating the same.

According to Florida statutes, whenever any legal holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it is considered a public holiday for “all and any of the purposes aforesaid.”

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Columbus Day is a legal holiday in Florida. Here’s a list of others

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