Did you know there's a huge Columbus statue in DC and the Italian and Spanish embassies lay a wreath at it every CDay?

Or that Justice Scalia was the grand marshall of this year's NYC parade? Funnier still is that no one knew who the hell he was.

Despite Justice Scalia's prominence, few paradegoers recognized him, a reflection perhaps of the Supreme Court justices' long tradition of limiting their public appearances.

"Who's that guy?" Frank Duarte, 38, a civil engineer from Wood-Ridge, N.J., asked his friend Mark Campesi, who suggested that Justice Scalia "must be some Italian politician."

Hilarious.

Or that the President issues a CDay proclamation (it's phrased more as a day of Italian-American celebration).

Oh, and note the very formal closing to the proclamation:

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

I've never seen the U.S.'s birthdate refered to in such a way. Does that mean there's some official calender in the White House that puts the year zero at 1776? If so, I totally dig it.