Leif Erikson Day
9 October 2026 — Sails up! The northern lights point the way to new shores!
Leif Erikson Day honors the Norse explorer who, according to the Icelandic sagas, reached the shores of North America around the year 1000, almost five centuries before Columbus. The archaeological site of L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, confirms that Norse people set foot on the continent. The date, October 9, is linked to the arrival of the sloop Restauration, carrying the first organized group of Norwegian immigrants, in New York in 1825. The U.S. Congress recognized the day in 1964, and each year it is marked by a presidential proclamation (an official public statement). It is not a day off work. Americans of Nordic heritage often celebrate with parades, exhibitions and gatherings. Norse sailors found their way by the sun and the stars, and the northern lights were part of the night sky over their homelands.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver figure of a Viking longship with a striped sail, drawn from luminous dots and thin connecting lines like a constellation
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