Columbus Day
Activists in Santiago, Chile, protest against Columbus Day on Sunday. Reuters

Columbus Day 2014, a federal holiday in the United States, is a chance for Americans to relax and recite the names of three ships they memorized in elementary school -- the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María. Of course, there are some things that schools skip, like kidnapping, slavery or the fact that Christopher Columbus was looking to find a quick passage to India but instead landed in the Bahamas in 1492. There's also the reality that Columbus didn't really discover anything that wasn't already known.

Should we be still be celebrating Columbus Day in 2014 at all? That's the question John Oliver asked on the Oct. 5 episode of HBO's "Last Week Tonight." In a clip released online to celebrate the holiday, the segment picks apart some of the traditions surrounding other holidays, such as near-riots during Black Friday and the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest during the Fourth of July. Instead, he posits that maybe there should be alternatives to Columbus Day that are less problematic, like "Frank Sinatra Day."

Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1968 but only 23 states, and Washington, D.C., celebrate the holiday by giving employees a paid day off. Instead, more states are looking to celebrate a day that recognizes indigenous people. In South Dakota, there's Native Americans' Day, "dedicated to the remembrance of the great Native American leaders who contributed so much to the history of our state." Hawaii's Discoverers' Day honors Polynesian explorers. Seattle and Minneapolis are ditching Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples' Day, which will honor Native American groups.

"Learning about the history of Columbus and transforming this day into a celebration of indigenous people and a celebration of social justice ... allows us to make a connection between this painful history and the ongoing marginalization, discrimination and poverty that indigenous communities face to this day," Seattle councilwoman Kshama Sawant told the Seattle Times following the vote last Monday. Berkeley, California, is another city that recognizes Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Should we keep this tradition alive? Let us know below.