Leif Erikson Day is the October 9 observance tied to the Norse explorer.

Leif Erikson Day is an annual U.S. observance on October 9 that honors the Norse explorer Leif Erikson and the broader Nordic-American heritage. It is not a federal holiday, so banks, schools, and offices stay open.

Leif Erikson (Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson), often called “Leif the Lucky,” was born in Iceland around the 970s, the son of Erik the Red. Around the year 1000 he led a voyage west from Greenland and reached a place the sagas call Vinland. Archaeological work at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, supports a Norse presence there around that time, making him the first European known to have set foot on the North American mainland outside Greenland—about five centuries before Columbus.

The date itself is not tied to his landing. October 9 marks the 1825 arrival in New York of the sloop Restauration, carrying the first organized group of Norwegian immigrants to the United States. That anniversary was later used as the day to honor both the medieval voyage and later Nordic immigration.

Wisconsin made it a state observance in 1929; Minnesota followed in 1931. Congress first authorized a national observance in 1935, and Public Law 88-566 (September 2, 1964) authorized the president to proclaim October 9 as Leif Erikson Day each year. Presidents have issued that proclamation regularly since. The day also recognizes contributions of Americans of Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish, and Finnish descent. Similar observances exist in parts of Canada, including Saskatchewan.