October 9th is Leif Erikson Day

Tomorrow (Saturday) is a day to honor Leif Erikson, a Christan man and the son and grandson of  murders, who through his voyages earned his place in history as the first to discover America, 500 years before Christopher Columbus.


(A side note: we celebrate Christopher Columbus Day this Monday the 11th).

Leif, was born sometime around 975 to Erik Thorvaldsson also known as Erik the Red (pictured to the left). Erik's nickname came either from his fiery red hair or from the murders he committed in his life, some of which held the punishment of being banned from Norway. After banishment, Erik the Red took up residence in Iceland where he continued his murderous ways and started a family. Leif was given the last name Erikson after his father's first name which was tradition at that time.  For a murder he committed Erik was additionally banned from Iceland, this is when he discovered Greenland. Greenland is not very 'green' but was named this by Erik as a way of enticing others to voyage to it.  Leif was also partly raised and educated by Tyrkir a German man who may have been captured by Erik the Red on one of his voyages. In later years was a close friend to Leif.  One of Leif's first voyages was to visit the king Olav Trygyvasson of Norway. He and his men stayed with the King for the winter during which he was taught Christianity, which he accepted and was baptized into. He then under the kings orders traveled to Greenland with a priest and shared his faith. Leifs mother converted and had a church built for her. It is believed that Erik the Red never accepted the faith. (Though I did find one reference to the contrary on Greenland's website, and you can see a photo of the church there as well).

Leif went on to discover new lands which are recorded in the 'Sagas of the Icelanders'. This is a collection of historical accounts written during the time period. The picture to the left is from one such account it is entitled the Egilis Saga, written in the 17th century.   Leifs most famous finds were  Newfound land which is an Island just off of Canada near Labrador and  the settlement of Vineland which most suspect was located at the northern tip of Newfoundland. 

Leif Erikson Day was made an official holiday in the U.S. in 1964. To be celebrated every year on October 9th which in 1825 was the first 'officially known' immigration from Norway to the U.S.

Some links I though might be interesting:

A great link for kids 

and

A detailed and somewhat humorous history of Erik 

Currently on the list from:The Holiday Challenge.

Preparing for Fall and Winter

Making New Years and Holiday Travel Plans

Begin a Christmas Gift List

Plan for Halloween

For a current list return to: Holiday Haven's home page and view the most recent post.

Sources: Wikipedia (where sources noted), archaeology.org, hyperhistory.net, leifur.de, bbc.co.uk, pbs.org, and mnsi.edu.  I endeavored to find facts with some historical evidence, however, there is a lot of contradicting information out there even amongst reliable sources.