Leif Erikson Day in United States

Leif Erikson Day honors a viking explorer known as Leif Erikson. He is believed to be the first recorded Nordic person to have visited the area that is now the United States. It is believed that he visited Baffin Island and Labrador around 1000 CE.

What do people do?

The president of the United States issues a proclamation about the holiday. Many US presidents have, in the past, publicly praised the spirit of exploration and discovery, as well the contributions of people with a Nordic background and their culture.

Public life

Leif Erikson Day is and observance and not a federal public holiday in the United States. Public transit systems run on their regular schedules.

Background

Leif Erikson was born of Norwegian descent around 970 CE in Iceland. It is thought that his father and grandfather were outlaws and explorers around Scandinavia and Greenland. His father founded two settlements in Greenland. Leif had two brothers and one sister. He married a woman named Thorgunna and they had one son, called Thorkell Leifsson.

Leif Erikson went to Norway to work for King Olaf I of Norway. During his stay, he converted to Christianity. When he returned to Island, he bought a boat and, in 1003, set out to explore the land west of Greenland that had been discovered by Bjarni Herjolfsson, and older explorer. The land that he had discovered was actually Newfoundland, which is now part of Canada. The 'Saga of the Greenlanders' tells of his adventures.

It is thought that he visited Baffin Island and Labrador and settled on the Northern part of the island of Newfoundland, now all part of Canada. There are speculations that Leif Erikson or later explorers may have traveled into the area that is now Minnesota in the United States. Some controversial archaeological finds, such as the Kensington Runestone and the Maine Penny, support this theory, but it is not considered proven.

October 9 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the day that the ship Restauration arrived in New York from Stavanger, Norway on October 9, 1825. This was the start of organized immigration from Scandinavia to the USA. The date is not associated with an event in Leif Erikson's life.

Leif Erikson Day Observances

Select another year-range:1777–17991800–18491850–18991900–19491950–19991990–20202000–20492050–20992100–21492150–21992200–22492250–22992300–23492350–23992400–24492450–24992500–25492550–25992600–26492650–26992700–27492750–27992800–28492850–28992900–29492950–29993000–30493050–30993100–31493150–31993200–32493250–32993300–33493350–33993400–34493450–34993500–35493550–35993600–36493650–36993700–37493750–37993800–38493850–38993900–39493950–3999

Weekday	Date	Year	Name	Holiday type	Where it is observed
Tue	Oct 9	1990	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Wed	Oct 9	1991	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Fri	Oct 9	1992	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sat	Oct 9	1993	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sun	Oct 9	1994	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Mon	Oct 9	1995	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Wed	Oct 9	1996	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Thu	Oct 9	1997	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Fri	Oct 9	1998	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sat	Oct 9	1999	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Mon	Oct 9	2000	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Tue	Oct 9	2001	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Wed	Oct 9	2002	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Thu	Oct 9	2003	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sat	Oct 9	2004	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sun	Oct 9	2005	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Mon	Oct 9	2006	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Tue	Oct 9	2007	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Thu	Oct 9	2008	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Fri	Oct 9	2009	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sat	Oct 9	2010	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sun	Oct 9	2011	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Tue	Oct 9	2012	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Wed	Oct 9	2013	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Thu	Oct 9	2014	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Fri	Oct 9	2015	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Sun	Oct 9	2016	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Mon	Oct 9	2017	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Tue	Oct 9	2018	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Wed	Oct 9	2019	Leif Erikson Day	Observance
Fri	Oct 9	2020	Leif Erikson Day	Observance

Other holidays in October 2013 in United States

• International Day of Older Persons ―Tuesday, October 1, 2013
• International Day of Non-Violence ―Wednesday, October 2, 2013
• Feast of St Francis of Assisi ―Friday, October 4, 2013
• World Teachers' Day ―Saturday, October 5, 2013
• Child Health Day ―Monday, October 7, 2013
• World Habitat Day ―Monday, October 7, 2013
• International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction ―Wednesday, October 9, 2013
• World Post Day ―Wednesday, October 9, 2013
• World Mental Health Day ―Thursday, October 10, 2013
• World Sight Day ―Thursday, October 10, 2013
• International Day of the Girl Child ―Friday, October 11, 2013
• Indigenous People's Day ―Monday, October 14, 2013
• Columbus Day ―Monday, October 14, 2013
• Native Americans' Day ―Monday, October 14, 2013
• International Day of Rural Women ―Tuesday, October 15, 2013
• Eid-al-Adha ―Tuesday, October 15, 2013
• White Cane Safety Day ―Tuesday, October 15, 2013
• World Food Day ―Wednesday, October 16, 2013
• Boss's Day ―Wednesday, October 16, 2013
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty ―Thursday, October 17, 2013
• Alaska Day ―Friday, October 18, 2013
• World Development Information Day ―Thursday, October 24, 2013
• United Nations Day ―Thursday, October 24, 2013
• Nevada Day ―Friday, October 25, 2013
• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage ―Sunday, October 27, 2013
• World Stroke Day ―Tuesday, October 29, 2013
• Halloween ―Thursday, October 31, 2013