教你正确用（二十九）.docVIP

教你正确用（二十九） 　　In Part One of this series on holidays, we talked about important holidays up to the month of September. Today, as promised, we’ll pick up where we left off and take a look at holidays in the fall and winter months. 　　 　　Holiday in October 　　Columbus Day The second Monday in October is designated a national holiday to celebrate Christopher Columbus’ landing on the American Continent on October 12, 1492. Believing that the world was round and by sailing directly west he would have a shortcut to reach India and China, Columbus started his discovery voyage from Spain on August 3, 1492, and landed on today’s San Salvador① two months later, which he believed to be India. Columbus soon reached Cuba and thought it was Japan. For his vision, courage, and accomplishments, Columbus symbolizes the spirit of pioneering and the land he discovered. Indeed, in the 1800’s, the United States of America was actually called “the United States of Columbia.” “Columbia” is a more poetic version of “Columbus.” 　　 　　Columbus Day was first celebrated in the U.S. in 1791, one year short of the 300th anniversary of his discovery of the American Continent. However, Columbus’ discovery has generated controversies in recent years. American Indians, now known as Native Americans, claimed that Columbus’ discovery of the new world only benefited European colonialists, who took land and recourses away from the natives but, in return, brought diseases and later genocides to the local inhabitants. More interestingly, some researchers have been arguing for the past couple of years that the Chinese voyager, Zheng He (郑和), led his great fleet to reach America in 1421, some 70 years before Columbus’ journey. They say Zheng He wrecked② one of his ships somewhere near today’s San Francisco. 　　 　　Holidays in November 　　Election Day The American democracy is built on the concept of “self government③,” where officials are publicly elected to represent the interest of their constituencies④