Nordic Life " Leif Erikson Discovers America " by Hans Dahl Happy Leif Erikson Day! On October 9, we celebrate Leif Erikson Day. Throughout history, the Vikings earned a reputation for conquering new lands-but they also played a signifi cant role in Scandinavian culture and made many contributions to Western civilization. Icelandic explorer Leif Erikson was the fi rst European to set foot in North America. When traveling from Greenland to Norway around the year 1000, he sailed off course and discovered new territory. He called it Vinland ( " Land of Wine " ) after the forests and wild grapes that grew in abundance, and it was later named Newfoundland. In September 1964, the United States Congress authorized the President to proclaim October 9 as Leif Erikson Day. The day was chosen to commemorate the day the immigrant ship Restauration arrived in New York from Stavanger, Norway, on Oct. 9, 1825. Viking Books for Kids Are your children or grandchildren interested in the Vikings? Here are several Vikingthemed books we're loving. " Who Was Leif Erikson? " by Nico Medina ingebretsens.com 8 VIKING OCTOBER 2020 sonsofnorway.com " Everything Vikings " by Nadia Higgins scholastic.com " How to Be a Viking " by Cressida Cowell scandinaviangifts.comhttp://www.ingebretsens.com http://www.scholastic.com http://www.scandinaviangifts.com http://www.sonsofnorway.com