Discovery Day or National Heroes Day or Columbus Day

The second Monday in October, formerly known as "Discovery Day" or "Columbus Day," has now been dedicated to honoring Bahamian national heroes since 2013. An official National Heroes Day ceremony is held with a keynote speech by the Prime Minister, and heroes from a cross-section of civil society are celebrated with a week of activities.

Many people enjoy the day with family gatherings and beach picnics.

Only a handful of Caribbean countries observe holidays related to Columbus Day. In Belize, October 12 is celebrated as Day of the Americas or Pan American Day. In the Bahamas, it was formerly known as Discovery Day, until 2001 when it was replaced by National Heroes Day.

The day was first celebrated in Argentina in 1917, in Venezuela and Colombia in 1921, in Chile in 1922 and in Mexico it was first celebrated in 1928. The day was also celebrated under this title in Spain until 1957, when it was changed to the Día de la Hispanidad ("Hispanicity Day"), and in Venezuela it was celebrated under this title until 2002, when it was changed to the Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance).

Spanish authorities have proved through DNA tests that the remains in the Cathedral of Seville are the real remains of Columbus. The Dominican authorities haven't allowed the same DNA tests to be done to the remains in the lighthouse, so it is impossible to know if the remains of Columbus are divided or if the remains in the lighthouse belonged to another person.