Stop canceling school for Columbus Day

Columbus Day is the most useless holiday on the federal calendar — and it's time to stop using it as an excuse for a day off school.

Set aside, for a moment, the controversy over whether Christopher Columbus's journey to the Americas should be celebrated at all. The holiday is, as it stands, a logistical headache. Fewer than half of states celebrate it, and almost no other offices do. Just 15 percent of private business close, the smallest proportion for any federal holiday. So if you're a parent in a Columbus Day-celebrating state — the ones in blue below — you're probably scrambling to find something for kids to do on Monday.

https://www.vox.com/2014/10/12/6962857/why-canceling-school-for-columbus-day-is-a-terrible-idea