Even though today is a so-called federal holiday, the only way I will be celebrating Columbus Day is to not get mail & not go to the bank. Yep...that's pretty much it.
We have been celebrating a holiday of a guy who took things over & pushed actual natives out of the way. As actual events come to light, we shouldn't be surprised that the federal government would celebrate such a day. But that's a whole POLITICAL SOAPBOX I won't get on right now...
Instead, I will be disappointed in myself. Why? Because I missed a holiday that should have been celebrated instead. And it's a day that was declared a holiday in the United States...but it gets passed right over! Yet, SpongeBob had it right!
On October 9th, Teen Girl looked at me & proclaimed,
"Happy Leif Erikson Day! What are we doing for it?"
Since she is more than well aware of my passion of CELEBRATING WEIRD & ALL HOLIDAYS, she was waiting to hear my plan. But there was this deal that I was totally oblivious & didn't have a plan. She was shocked at me!
"Ummm...don't you remember watching SpongeBob? He wakes up to celebrate Leif Erikson Day on October 9th!"
I only vaguely remembered the episode, but did remember him in a viking hat & a beard.
So, on Columbus Day, I had a good history lesson! I learned that October 9th is officially, for really-really-realz, Leif Erikson Day. SpongeBob just brought it back to light! (Yes, I said back to "light"!)
Well then...Hinga Dinga Durgan!!!
And, because it's how I do & how I roll, I am doing some serious research! I must plan for Leif Erikson Day on October 9th of 2014! *face palm*
Here's the deal with celebrating weird holidays...
Like I've said before, HERE, if you find out you missed a day, you can get about a year, a few months, or a few days to learn about what you missed or what's coming up. It really allows you to learn more about history, people & events. Knowledge is power, people! Embrace continual learning beyond school. Learn stuff everyday! And weird holidays are a fun springboard & trampoline in doing so! Jump in on that!
It's going to be interesting learning about the Norse culture & more about how Leif Erikson (Ericson...either way) settled in part of Canada & northern U.S. 500 years before Christopher Columbus got lost.
So let's mark our calendars together: October 9th! And I will continue to look into the why behind the date (like it being recognized in Wisconsin in 1930 to commemorate the Norwegian arrival of the Restauration ship on Oct. 9, 1825...and then nationally recognized in 1964) & learn about some Norwegian cuisine to have throughout the day! How about you? It's literally a learning process...
And maybe we could push this instead of Columbus Day. Amm-i-rite?
So...in the wise words of the free-spirited philosopher, SpongeBob SquarePants: "Hinga Dinga Durgan!"
God Bless, AM~Erica
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