Leif Erikson Day
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Leif Erikson Day is an annual observance that occurs on October 9. It honors
Leif Erikson Leif Erikson, also known as Leif the Lucky (), was a Norsemen, Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental Americas, America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus. According ...
(
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
: ''Leifr EirĂ­ksson''), the Norse explorer who, in approximately 1000 CE, led the first Europeans believed to have set foot on the continent of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
(other than
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
). Because the exact date of Leif's arrival to the Americas is unknown, the October 9 date was chosen in commemoration of the ''Restauration''s arrival to
New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
, carrying some of the first Norwegian immigrants to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. This means the holiday occurs before
Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...
(although it is sometimes coincident with the US' observation of Columbus Day).


History

The 1874 book ''America Not Discovered by Columbus'' by Norwegian-American Rasmus B. Anderson helped popularize the idea that
Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
were the first Europeans in the New World, an idea that was verified in 1960. In his speech during the Norse-American Centennial at the Minnesota State Fair in 1925, President
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...
gave recognition to Leif Erikson as the discoverer of America. In 1929,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
became the first U.S. state to officially adopt Leif Erikson Day as a state holiday, thanks in large part to efforts by Rasmus Anderson. In 1931,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
did also. As a result of efforts by the Leif Erikson Memorial Association of Saskatchewan, the
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...
proclaimed—through an order-in-council in 1936—that Leif Erikson Day would be observed on October 9. By 1956, Leif Erikson Day had been made an official observance in seven states (Wisconsin, Minnesota,
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, Washington, and
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
) and one Canadian province (
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
). The
federal government of the United States The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
first recognized Leif Erikson Day in 1935 as a result of House Joint Resolution 26, which had been introduced during the 74th Congress (1935–1936) by Congressman Harry Sauthoff of Wisconsin. Originally, the resolution was written to request the
US president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
annually proclaim October 9 as Leif Erikson Day, but it was amended in
committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
to be for 1935 only. After passing
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, the legislation was signed into law by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
on June 19, 1935. As requested in the joint resolution, Roosevelt then issued presidential proclamation 2135 on September 11, 1935, designating October 9 of that year as Leif Erikson Day. In the following decades, several unsuccessful attempts were made to pass legislation requesting Leif Erikson Day be proclaimed annually by the president. During the 88th Congress (1963–1964), various members of Congress introduced 12 different resolutions to that effect. One of these pieces of legislation, House Joint Resolution 393 (proposed by Congressman John Blatnik of Minnesota), was passed by Congress and then signed into law by President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
on September 2, 1964, becoming
Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...
88–566. As requested by the joint resolution, President Johnson also signed Presidential Proclamation 3610 proclaiming October 9 of that year as Leif Erikson Day. Under the 1964 joint resolution, each president in the years since has issued an annual proclamation, often using the opportunity also to praise the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery. Bills have been introduced in the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...
to observe Leif Erikson Day throughout the country, but they have failed to pass.


Date

October 9 is not associated with any particular event in Leif Erikson's life. The exact date of Leif's arrival to the Americas is unknown, but the Sagas state that it was in autumn. At the suggestion of Christian A. Hoen, October 9 was settled upon, as it took place in the fall and was already a historic date for Scandinavians in America. The date was chosen because the ship '' Restauration'' coming from
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, arrived in
New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...
on October 9, 1825, beginning a wave of immigration from Norway to the United States.


Observance

The federal government of the United States observes the holiday, and some U.S. states officially commemorate Leif Erikson Day. It is celebrated in many communities, particularly in the
Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...
and other places where large numbers of people from the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...
settled. It has long been observed in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
. In 2012, the day was celebrated in
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. Westby, Wisconsin, and Norway, Michigan, have held festivals near the day. There have been Canadian commemorations, including in
Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...
, and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.


In popular culture

The holiday was referenced in the episode "Bubble Buddy" of the Nickelodeon animated series ''
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
''. At the beginning of the episode, SpongeBob, wearing a viking helmet and beard, shouts "Hey, everybody! It's Leif Erikson Day!", followed by some vaguely Norse-sounding gibberish, often written as "hinga dinga durgen". Later, Patrick Star says, "Happy Leif Erikson Day!", followed by some vaguely Norse-sounding gibberish that could be rendered as "yerga hinger dinger". ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' states that the holiday is often mainly associated online with its appearance in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and poses that "Perhaps this is the best way to remember the day". The episode is arguably responsible for popularizing the holiday outside of the Norwegian-American community.


Notes


References


Further reading

* {{US Holidays Leif Erikson Public holidays in the United States October observances Norwegian-American culture Norse colonization of North America 1964 establishments in the United States Recurring events established in 1964