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, carrying some of the first Norwegian immigrants to the United States. This means the holiday occurs before Columbus Day (although it is sometimes coincident with the US' observation of Columbus Day).[3]
The federal government of the United States 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.[13] Originally, the resolution was written to request the US president annually proclaim October 9 as Leif Erikson Day, but it was amended in committee to be for 1935 only.[14] After passing Congress, the legislation was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1935.[15] 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.[16]
Presidential Proclamation 2135 authorized, in 1935, the first US federal observance of Leif Erikson Day. Since 1964, presidential proclamations observing the day have been issued annually.
In the following decades, several unsuccessful attempts were made to pass legislation requesting Leif Erikson Day be proclaimed annually by the president.[17] During the 88th Congress (1963–1964), various members of Congress introduced 12 different resolutions to that effect.[18] 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 on September 2, 1964, becoming Public Law 88–566.[19][20][21] As requested by the joint resolution, President Johnson also signed Presidential Proclamation 3610 proclaiming October 9 of that year as Leif Erikson Day.[22] Under the 1964 joint resolution, each president in the years since has issued an annual proclamation,[23] often using the opportunity also to praise the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.[24][25]
Bills have been introduced in the Parliament of Canada to observe Leif Erikson Day throughout the country, but they have failed to pass.[26][27]
Date
October 9 is not associated with any particular event in Leif Erikson's life.[28] 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.[12] The date was chosen because the ship Restauration coming from Stavanger, Norway, arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825, beginning a wave of immigration from Norway to the United States.[29]
The holiday was referenced in the episode "Bubble Buddy" of the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants.[40] 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 says, "Happy Leif Erikson Day!", followed by some vaguely Norse-sounding gibberish that could be rendered as "yerga hinger dinger". Forbes 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".[3] The episode is arguably responsible for popularizing the holiday outside of the Norwegian-American community.[41]
Notes
^Icelandic: Leifur Eiríksson, Norwegian: Leiv Eiriksson, Swedish: Leif Eriksson, Danish: Leif Eriksen. He is also referred to as Leif the Lucky.
^Hansen, Carl G.O. (1956). "Leif Erikson Comes to the Front". My Minneapolis. Minneapolis: Privately published. Archived from the original on December 7, 2009. The Norwegian National League in Minneapolis took the initiative in getting the Minnesota legislature to adopt a law of the same import and contents as the Wisconsin law making October 9 Leif Erikson Day. Such a bill was signed by Governor Floyd B. Olson, April 7, 1931.
^"Leiv Erikson". Go Norway. 2007. Though many still regard Christopher Columbus as the discoverer of the New World, Eiriksson's right to this title received the stamp of official approval in the USA when in 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson, backed by a unanimous Congress, proclaimed October 9th "Leif Ericson Day" in commemoration of the first arrival of a European on North American soil.
^Helgason, Magnús Sveinn (November 2, 2015). "Ten fascinating facts about the statue of Leifur Eiríksson". Iceland Magazine. When, for example, Leif Erikson day was first commemorated nationally in the U.S. in 1964, the date October 9 was chosen because large scale migration from Norway to the U.S. began on that day in 1825 when the ship Restauration arrived in New York from Stavanger in Norway.
^Kolodny, Annette (2012). "The Challenge to Columbus". In Search of First Contact: The Vikings of Vinland, the Peoples of the Dawnland, and the Anglo-American Anxiety of Discovery. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. p. 231. ISBN9780822352860.
^Castelaz, Terri (October 4, 2018). "A different fall Leif festival". Iron Mountain Daily News. Iron Mountain, Michigan. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Norway once again will celebrate its Scandinavian heritage this weekend with the annual Leif Erikson Festival.
^Young, Don; Young, Marjorie (2008). Iceland Adventure Guide. Hunter Publishing. p. 89. ISBN9781588436726. October 9 is Leif Eiriksson's Day, when the people of Reykjavik celebrate the discovery of America.
(federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies
