It's Leif Erikson Day! Hinga dinga durgen!

In the year 1964, the U.S. Congress requested that October 9th would be officially recognized as Leif Erikson Day. Although it is a Nationally recognized holiday, chances are that most people don't even know this holiday exists, and are only slightly aware of it because of its reference in an episode of the TV show Spongebob Squarepants.

The purpose of Leif Erikson day is to officially observe the contribution of Americans that are descendants of Norwegians. While the date for the holiday was not created with a specific event tied to Lief Ericson (spelled differently from the holiday's name) in mind, he was chosen as a symbol for the occasion due to his contributions to the exploration of North America. He is widely believed to be one of the first people to arrive in America from Europe. The date was chosen to be October 9th because it is the day that the first officially organized immigration of Norwegians landed in New York harbor.

But how is this important? To many, it probably isn't. Though without immigration from Norway, many well known cultural and political icons, including Marilyn Monroe, Iggy Pop, Beck, Tom Waits, and Earl Warren, wouldn't be here to provide their influence on our lives. Specifically to me, this holiday means a great deal. Iggy Pop was one of the most influential musicians of the punk rock explosion in America in the 1970's, and he has influenced many of the musicians that I enjoy listening to now. To add to that, one of my closest friends is of Norwegian descent. So if I was to decide whether or not I appreciate this day, I would have to say that I most definitely do and that I think that it should get a lot more attention than it does now.