Today marks the
holiday celebrating Nordic heritage in America; also, jointly with Columbus Day, celebrating the spirit of exploration.
Many believe that roughly a millennium ago, Leif Erikson — a Norse explorer — and his crew were the first Europeans to reach the shores of North America. His spirit of adventure, curiosity, and resilience would inspire generations of Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians, and Swedes to sail across an ocean and begin new lives in America. These immigrants built bustling homes and enriched their communities, supporting and realizing the American Dream. They fought for our freedoms in the military; built new churches, businesses, and schools; and spearheaded social movements. Today, Nordic communities continue to enrich the fabric of the Nation.
It is virtually certain now that they reached Newfoundland - L'Anse aux Meadows, https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/meadows, and there is less certain evidence for touching down all the way down the East Coast.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, some people swore that the Vikings had reached Oklahoma. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen, but the Heavener stone is interesting:
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_runestones