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WHO IS LEIF ERIKSON?

Happy Leif Erikson Day to you!  Happy what?!  Happy who?!  That's right....Today is the official observance of Leif Erikson.  When I hear the name Leif Erickson...I think Leif Garret the child pop star of the 1970's...But alas...There is a great difference.  Even SpongeBob Squarepants sings about the famed Leif Erikson in one of his episodes.  So...Who is Leif Erikson? Where have I been?

THE HISTORY OF LEIF

Leif Erikson was a Viking explorer born in Iceland in 970 C.E. (by the way, that means Common or Current Era...who knew?!).  His father and grandfather were thought to be outlaws and explorers who discovered two settlements in Greenland. His wife's name was Thorgunna, and together they had one son, who they named Thorkell.  I'm sure with names like that, these were some tough people. Leif's father, Erik The Red, was banned from Norway after murdering a neighbor.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT JOHNSON!

Leif Erikson Day honors the first Scandinavian known to have set foot on American soil, and the contribution of the Nordic people to the United States. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation to recognize that the first European expedition to North America in A.D. 1000, A.D. meaning the year of our Lord) hundreds of years before Columbus was even born.

LEIF ERIKSON OBSERVANCE

Leif Erikson Day is an Observance and not a federal public holiday. October 9th was chosen as the day of observance because that is the day the ship Restauration arrived in New York from Norway in 1825. It's actually not associated with any big events in Leif Erikson's life.

LEIF ERIKSON STATUE IN MINNESOTA

There really is a statue of Leif Erikson near the capitol in St. Paul.

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