Maybe the article is B.S. in terms of why we have Columbus Day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day
Wrong. From the Wikipedia:
For the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage in 1892, following a lynching in New Orleans, where a mob had murdered 11 Italian immigrants, President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day as a one-time national celebration.[10][11] The proclamation was part of a wider effort after the lynching incident to placate Italian Americans and ease diplomatic tensions with Italy.[10]
During the anniversary in 1892, teachers, preachers, poets, and politicians used rituals to teach ideals of patriotism. These rituals took themes such as citizenship boundaries, the importance of loyalty to the nation, and the celebration of social progress, included among them was the Pledge of Allegiance by Francis Bellamy.[12][13][14][15]