Leif Erikson Day

When Celebrated

Always on October 9th

Gifty-ness

About the Holiday

Leif Erikson Day celebrates the Norse explorer whom many credit as the first to discover the Americas in the 10th century. In 1874, the book America Not Discovered by Columbus by Rasmus B. Anderson made the assertion that the Vikings were the first Europeans to visit North America.

This holiday was officially recognized as a US holiday in 1964 when it was voted into law by Congress. Each year the President, as was authorized by Congress, makes a proclamation in observance of the holiday. The choice of October 9th is not related to any date in Leif Erikson's life, instead it marks the first organized immigration from Norway to the US on October 9th, 1825.^[1]

References

1. ↑ Norway.org: Leif Erikson Day - Oct. 9, 2010

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