Alternatives to Columbus Day

Leif Erikson DayLeif Erikson Day is a United States observance occurring on October 9. It honors Leif Erikson, who led the first Europeans believed to have set foot on North American soil. In 1964, Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual proclamation. Lyndon B. Johnson and each President since have done so. Presidents have used the proclamation to pay tribute to the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.

In addition to the federal observance, some U.S. states officially commemorate Leif Erikson Day, particularly in the Upper Midwest, where large numbers of immigrants from the Nordic countries settled. In 1930, Wisconsin became the first state to officially adopt this holiday, thanks to efforts by the Norwegian-American initiator, Rasmus B. Anderson. A year later Minnesota followed suit. In 1963, the U.S. Representative from Duluth, John Blatnik, introduced a bill to observe it nationwide. The following year Congress adopted this unanimously.Discoverer's DayDiscoverer's Day is a commemorative public holiday of the state of Hawaii in the United States, observed on the second Monday of each October. It is celebrated on the same day as Columbus Day, a federal holiday which Hawaii does not officially honor, as Christopher Columbus had no part in the history of Hawaii. One of the principal advocates of the creation of the alternative holiday to replace the irrelevant federal holiday was Bud Smyser, editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper. While many in Hawaii still celebrate the life of Columbus on Columbus Day, the alternative holiday also honors James Cook, the British navigator that became the first person to record the coordinates of the Hawaiian Islands and shared with the world the existence of the ancient Hawaiian people and society. Some people interpret the holiday as a celebration of all discoveries relative to the ancient and modern societies of Hawaii.Discovery DayDiscovery Day is celebrated in only two provinces in Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador celebrates Discovery Day on June 24. Yukon celebrates it on the third Monday of August.

In Yukon, Discovery Day is a public holiday commemorating the anniversary of the discovery of gold in 1896, which started the Klondike Gold Rush.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, it commemorates John Cabot's discovery in 1497.