What do Christopher Columbus and Leif Eriksson have in common? Both arrived in North America long ago, but Leif Eriksson beat Columbus by about 500 years. Each October, both their voyages are remembered. You know that October 12 was Columbus Day. Did you know that October 9th was Leif Eriksson Day?
Icelandic sagas tell about Leif Eriksson’s voyage in about A.D. 1000 to a land west of Greenland that he called Vinland. For many years, though, this voyage remained little more than a story. Then in 1963, archaeologists found proof. They discovered Viking-era artifacts in northern Newfoundland, in Canada. The find confirmed that Nordic settlers from Greenland and Iceland had indeed lived there. This early settlement never became permanent, however.
Centuries later, in 1633, a few Norwegian settlers came to live in New Amsterdam, but immigration remained slow. In 1825, a group of 52 Norwegians boarded the sloop Restauration and sailed for the United States. The ship entered New York harbor on October 9, 1825. Soon immigrants began to arrive from all the Scandinavian countries—Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Many of the newcomers put down roots in the Midwestern states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Others spread to states across the country.
October 9 became established as a day to celebrate Scandinavian heritage in general and Leif Eriksson in particular. In Humboldt Park in Chicago, Americans of Norwegian descent place a wreath by a statue of Leif Eriksson. In Wisconsin, it is a public school observance day.
According to the 2010 US Census, some 11 million people in the United States are of Scandinavian descent. Scandinavian immigrants have added to American culture in many ways. Their industriousness helped build thriving farms and cities. Scandinavian festivals and foods offer delights to all Americans. You may want to think twice about sampling lutefisk, though. It is a dish of dried, aged fish that has been soaked in lye.
Image credit: © North Wind Picture Archives via AP Images
Related Links
- Proclamation of Leif Eriksson Day
Read the complete text of President Obama’s proclamation.
(Source: The White House, October 9, 2012) - Immigration: Scandinavian
This source includes information about immigrants from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland and links to classroom instructional materials.
(Source: Library of Congress; accessed October 31, 2012) - Vinland
Check out the archaeological evidence found by Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad. Subsequent pages provide more content about the Vikings in North America in Erik the Red’s Saga and the Saga of the Greenlanders. There are also videos and podcasts.
(Source: Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institute; accessed October 31, 2012) - Helge Ingstad
Read the obituary of the Norwegian archaeologist who found evidence of a Viking settlement in Newfoundland.
(Source: The Telegraph, March 30, 2001) - The Sloopers—Pioneers in Norwegian Emigration
Read more about the first organized group of Norwegian immigrants who sailed aboard the Restauration in 1825.
(Source: Norway Heritage; accessed October 31, 2012)
Leif Eriksson is a much better explorer than Christopher Columbus,
Long live Leif Eriksson, the real Discoverer of America !.
Maybe he was the first – I don’t think anyone knows.
It’s Leif Eriksson Day! Yinger hinger dergen