Because the exact date of Leif's arrival to the Americas is unknown, the October 9 date was chosen in commemoration of theRestauration's arrival toNew York Harbor, carrying some of the firstNorwegian immigrants to theUnited States. This means the holiday occurs beforeColumbus Day (although it is sometimes coincident with the US' observation of Columbus Day).[3]
Thefederal 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 the74th Congress (1935–1936) by CongressmanHarry Sauthoff of Wisconsin.[13] Originally, the resolution was written to request theUS president annually proclaim October 9 as Leif Erikson Day, but it was amended incommittee to be for 1935 only.[14] After passingCongress, the legislation was signed into law by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt on June 19, 1935.[15] As requested in the joint resolution, Roosevelt then issuedpresidential 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 beproclaimed annually by the president.[17] During the88th 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 CongressmanJohn Blatnik of Minnesota), was passed by Congress and then signed into law by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson on September 2, 1964, becomingPublic 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 ofAmericans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.[24][25]
Bills have been introduced in theParliament of Canada to observe Leif Erikson Day throughout the country, but they have failed to pass.[26][27]
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 shipRestauration coming fromStavanger, Norway, arrived inNew 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 seriesSpongeBob SquarePants.[39] A writer inForbes said the holiday is often associated online with its appearance inSpongeBob SquarePants and posed "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.[40]
^Hansen, Carl G.O. (1956)."Leif Erikson Comes to the Front".My Minneapolis. Minneapolis: Privately published. Archived fromthe 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 GovernorFloyd B. Olson, April 7, 1931.
^"Leiv Erikson". Go Norway. 2007. Archived fromthe original on July 19, 2011. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2010.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.
