Is Everybody Happy?

" 'Tis the season to be jolly.."

Stores have been crowded with shoppers hurrying through the crowded aisles as they try to find that advertised item that is on sale for only a short time. It began feverishly on Thanksgiving Day, continuing on Black Friday and now, the newest Cyber Monday!  People with "the means" are happily  planning on their future gift sharing, if not for their own 'material needs' at the present time.

Thanksgiving Day was quietly spent with friends and relatives, perhaps attending church services after which they traveled to warm and cozy gatherings at home.

  Major holidays are enjoyed by most people in comfort and joy, while others are not so fortunate. Military personnel have only memories as they spent lonely hours away from their loved ones. 

Homeless individuals have no home in which to go.

 Soup kitchens,

volunteers in church basements and social institutions open their doors, inviting these often cold and lonely individuals to share a hot meal and perhaps a place to sleep for the cold winter evening. The holiday spirit is shared for a short time.

Winter must be a very hard season for the homeless. Thankfully, the "more fortunate" tend to open their hearts during the winter season while perhaps thinking that 'They can take care of themselves in the spring and summer'.

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Exchange students coming from the Scandinavian area  to experience US schools all comment on special attention given to the effect of the long,dark Scandinavian winter nights. It is typical for foreigners to be nervous about facing the dark winters in Norway. 

Above the Arctic Circle, there is a period of time when the sun doesn’t make it over the horizon. When the sun doesn’t appear for 24 hours, it's called a Polar Night. The higher above the Arctic Circle, the more Polar Nights there are. Tromsø  is  217 miles above the Arctic Circle and has 60 Polar Nights in a row and this lack of sunlight has a depressing effect.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that’s related to changes in seasons — SAD begins and ends at about the same times every year.  Symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping energy and causing people to feel moody.

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Norwegians have a " solution" to offset this winter problem. Mothers give their children a daily spoonful of  fish oil, commonly called "Cod Liver Oil" which serves as a replacement for missing vitamins and helps the body to replace the  effects of  sunlight. Cod liver oil contains lot of good omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin D. Even though Norwegians eat a lot of fish products, it is normal for children and adults to have a spoonful of cod liver oil every day of the year, especially in the long winter season.

Cod liver oil was traditionally manufactured by filling a wooden barrel with fresh cod livers and seawater and allowing the mixture to ferment for up to a year before removing the oil. Modern cod liver oil is made by cooking the whole cod  fish during the manufacture of fish meal.

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For the people who are trying to sleep at night and rise in the morning light , time becomes confusing. Melatonin can be  taken in the

evening as the standard treatment for delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD) and where circadian rhythms are not biologically synchronized  to the winter cycle. Polar nights and days blur and sleep cycles become confusing.Melatonin is found in many plants including rice, corn, tomato, grape and other edible fruits.The primary function is regulation of day-night cycles function as the synchronizer of the biological clock, melatonin interacts with the immune system.

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Many people believe that suicide rates peak during the winter months.This seems to make sense  given the existence of seasonal affective disorder and the tendency to associate depression with winter. Harsh weather increases the prevalence of diseases such as pneumonia and hypothermia due to minimal amount of sunlight in the winter time.   

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The Saturday before our Thanksgiving Day is designated National Survivors of Suicide Day by the United States Congress as a day when friends and family of those who have died by suicide can join together for healing and support. Finland held candlelit vigils  to commemorate its citizens who have taken their own lives.

An average of two people a day commit suicide in Finland, and campaigners insist it is time for a suicide prevention strategy to be put in place.

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The Finnish Central Association for Mental Health organized the annual event in 1992, at which candlelit vigils were held all over the country.  
The association is urging more action to take place to fight the scourge of suicide, estimating that up to 20,000 people try to commit suicide in Finland each year.The Finnish Central Association for Mental Health has organized the annual vigils to draw people’s attention to suicide and how we can prevent it. Suicide levels are highest among the retired, unemployed, impoverished, divorced, the childless, urbanites, empty- nesters, and other people who live alone. As the weather becomes cold, and nights become longer, attention is focused on those in need .  When the weather warms, we tend to forget, and our benevolent spirit seems to ebb during the remainder of the year.

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Although the dreary days of winter are depressing at times, I was surprised to learn that the idea that "suicide is more common during the winter holidays" is actually a myth, generally reinforced by media coverage associating suicide with the holiday season.
The National Center for Health Statistics found that suicides drop during the winter months, and peak during spring and early summer.Industrialized countries including Finland, Sweden have provided enough information to show that  suicidal tendencies are effected by the season, but this 'seasonal variation in suicide incidents' could be explained by the increase of sunshine in summer months and  high temperatures!

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 Most suicides take place in the spring because “everything begins to awake; activity is resumed, relations spring up, interchanges increase". In other words, it’s also human interactions, and not only the environment that caused higher incidence of suicide in spring or summer “The vast majority of people don’t commit suicide because they want to kill themselves, but as a way to end the torment of not being able to cope with a problem.”
 

While our holiday spirits causes us to be more caring, the actions of  the bell-ringers at the mall are quite often avoided. It is easy to believe they are collecting funds to be given to the homeless at the present time. However,  these funds may be   needed later,  as the needs and  risk of depression increases for the less fortunate.

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The long winter nights can be a source of exercise and activity.

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In Norway, darkness is just a way of life. People in warmer countries think that when it is dark you have to stay indoors, but this is impractical when you only have an hour of light each day. Darkness in Norway is also playtime, just the same as if it was light. After school, it is dark but the kids play in the snow. They go sledding, build snowmen and have

snowball fights in their front yards, down the street and in the parks. Kids  walk to school in the darkness and walk home in the darkness.

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Norwegians love fire. Any chance they get they will light up a candle. It is normal to see many candles on tables and windowsills.   Christmas lights are lit at the beginning of the dark season,just before Advent, and stay on until mid-January. In the dark season. Norwegians place hanging lamps in the windows to mimic the sun.

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Winter in Scandinavia is a magical time. If you enjoy winter sports, visit Scandinavia and Finland. This is the perfect time of the year for winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, or sledding.                       Have fun in the snow!

 May the joy of Christmas be with us now and not forgotten as time goes on.

And now, The latest Weather....

             More weather right after this word...

                   “A dangerous storm is ripping across our region. Stay tuned for further developments!”

This type of weather news would cause enough worry to stay ‘tuned-in’ and want to know more.

But when conditions are normal and calm, what can weather forecasters do to add some interest to their reporting? A Norwegian weatherman had a crazy idea. He decided to talk about the weather for an extended uninterrupted time and managed to talk for a record of 24 hours..Setting a record about weather!

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This caught the attention of a 41 year-old  Norwegian TV broadcaster who thought that might be an interesting touch to add interest to her weather broadcasts. Eli Kari Gjengedal from Leikanger, a municipality in the county of Fjordane, Norway, decided to try to break that record and get into the Guiness Book of Records.

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 Little is known of this weatherlady except that she is married, and well known in Norway for her many unconventional ideas on how to present the weather forecast. She has previously reported the weather in a space suit, and in an earlier broadcast ,suddenly

invisible.The record attempt was to be broken in a glass TV studio at Domkirkeplassen Square in Oslo. Her plan, in her words was to "talk about every small valley this country 's got; we'll move out into the world and have a look at different weather phenomena. Two meteorologists are going to sit beside me. We're going to analyze the weather and simply milk the world's biggest subject for conversation - the weather.”

 and her monologue began.

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   During the world record attempt, Eli was allowed to take a five-minute break for every 60 minutes that she was on screen. Under those rules, Eli Kari Gjengedal began to talk uninterrupted weather to set a new world record for continuous weather news on a Norwegian television.

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During her time on air, she put on a bathrobe, let her hair down, chilled out on a chair, and drank a lot of coffee, but kept the nation of Norway informed on what was going on, which, at the time, was a quiet period between mild, partly sunny, and partly cloudy. Not much to report!
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Gjengedal stayed on the air until her goal of minimum 24 hours was past, smashing the old record  and continued to set a new record of  33 hours of  continuous weather broadcasting in November, 2014. News reports stated : “Norway’s Weatherwoman ,Eli Kari Gjengedal, holds claim to setting a new record of the longest weather broadcast, earning a place  in the Guinness Book of Records!”

But, stay tuned.  More after this...

For reasons unknown at this time, ‘Guinness’ hadn’t declared the event as “Official”.

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Meanwhile, here in the USA, Al Roker,a well-known TV personality was involved in  fund-raising to benefit the USO,(United Service Organization). To bolster his efforts, he jokingly announced to the TV listening public “ If you donate enough money, I’ll come to your front lawn and I will do a forecast”. Learning of  Norwegian  Eli Gjengedal’s effort, his joke evolved into a plan. Using her record time, Roker decided to break HER record of ‘on TV air’ time. To be successful, his goal was to talk ‘weather’ for OVER 33 hours. His goal was to raise funds to aid  the USO, United Service Organization, a non-profit and non-political organization well-known to military service people and their families while overseas  on duty or at home.

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   The rules were to be the same: 5 minute breaks allowed after every hour, however any ‘unused’ breaks could be ‘banked’  and combined for later use.
  As his broadcast team organized for the event, plans for staying active for such a venture were established.   Roker stated, “I’ll probably change shirts and undergarments and things like that. Maybe change a jacket. Just kinda, you know, freshen up.”  Roker didn’t plan on using a razor or

worry about how ragged he’d look  on camera. “I don’t look that great to begin with,” he claimed. He went on to say:“I don’t know if it’s gonna lure viewers, I think it’s just kind of a fun thing to do if people tune in. It’s more about trying to raise money and doing something that hasn’t been done before.”He began talking ‘weather’ November 19th at 9:55 PM EST to continue the broadcast for the next 34 hours or more...

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Al Roker is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today Show. Born in Queens, New York, he is  the son of  Albert Lincoln Roker, Sr., a labor relations negotiator, bus driver and dispatcher, of Bahamian descent. Al’s mother is of Jamaican descent . His career with NBC began in 1978 when he was hired at WKYC-TV in Cleveland. Roker's wife, his third, is fellow journalist Deborah Roberts who has reported for both ABC and NBC.

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'Al Roker Entertainment'  started in 1994, with programs produced for The Food Network, and has since grown to include a number of popular television channels including NBC, The History Channel, TRU TV, Animal Planet, GAC, The Weather Channel, Discovery, Spike, and many others.

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 As 'Today’s' weatherman continued his monologue, current weather conditions of polar vortexes and arctic blasts bringing early snow to US landscapes was making Al’s ‘Rokerthon’  job a bit easier. When the digital timer wound down to 000.000 at 8 AM EST Friday, November 14th , ending  the record-breaking weathercast,  Al Roker was visited by a representative of  The Guiness Book of Records.

 He did it!

After 34 hours, Al Roker  now, officially, holds the Guinness World Record for longest uninterrupted live weather report”.       A highlight was a surprise congratulatory call from the US Vice President  Joe Biden who stated, among other things,

"All that money for the USO!  Thanks buddy!"

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Al's marathon raised over $82,000 for the 'USO' .  All of this was made possible due to efforts of a Norwegian weatherwoman Eli Gjengedal. Thank you, Eli.  Thank you, Al ...and congratulations!

And now, we take you back to our regularly scheduled broadcast!

It's Over!

Hvor mye koster det?

Loosely translated, “ What’s the cost?” The United States 2014 midterm election is history and is proving to be the most expensive election in US history. Never mind that a presidential choice was not to be made. What’s the cost?

           How about SIX BILLION DOLLARS?

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Six billion dollars was spent to complete the process. Can you imagine the joy of charities, states and the economy if   any portion of six billion dollars is received rather than observe it being  given to a select few individuals? Obviously, the donors can afford the contributions and expect the recipient, after winning, to “ do them a favor”. In many cases, these billionaire donors are looking far ahead to future election gains . TV sets in the US have been inundated with political half-truths, negative, misleading and sometimes truthful ads. It’s finally over for a short time before it begins anew..

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How much should it cost to choose our leaders? Six billion dollars for an ‘off-year’ is unthinkable in other countries. Rich US ‘Super-PACs’ pour in their money from secret sources for special TV biased ads.What do our neighboring countries do?  How do our Scandinavian friends do it fairly?

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In 2010, 74% of Norwegian campaign funds come from Norway’s government subsidization. The Scandinavian process, which depends on public funds rather than private funds for campaign financing, is believed to promote greater transparency in the process and reduce the dependency on corporate money. This is public fund campaign financing!  There are many different political parties in Norway. Norway has a multiparty system. When people go to vote, they have many alternatives from which to choose.
                                           21 parties!

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Norway's  current government  is a coalition of the Conservatives and The Progress  Party. They don’t have a majority alone, but are supported in parliament by the centrist Liberal and Christian Democrats.  The European Union Committee of Ministers issued suggestions in 2003  requiring political parties of member nations to make their donations public, keep accurate records, prevent conflicts of interest, and maintain a fixed ceiling for donations.
And unlike in the U.S., where candidates and their supporters can buy as much television time as they can afford, political ads are banned from television and radio.   

 Political ads are banned from Norwegian television and radio?! 

And in Sweden....

 

Since the Great Depression, Swedish national politics has largely been dominated by the Social Democratic Workers' Party, which has held a plurality (and sometimes a majority) in parliament since 1917. The last Swedish general election was held on 14 September 2014.Unlike in many countries where voters chose from a list of candidates or parties, each party in Sweden has separate ballot papers. The ballot papers must be identical in
size and material, and have different colors depending on the type of election: yellow, blue,  and white for municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.---Sweden has a problem--Swedish election policy of always displaying the ballot papers for voters to select in public, making it impossible for voters to vote secretly. This has been criticized as undemocratic. To confuse onlookers,  many use subterfuge and select bunches of additional ballots which they do not actually intend to use.

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Denmark is roughly the size of Maryland in population and geography.and there are eight parties in their parliament  In the 2007 election, Denmark’s two leading parties combined, including their public financing, spent less than $8 million – a fraction of the $5.3 billion candidates spent on the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Danish law only requires political parties to file annual reports of contributors. Even then, parties need only name contributors who gave more than 20,000 Danish kroner (about $3,770). Anonymous contributions are also allowed, but only if the party does not know the identity of the donor. .But the biggest difference in a campaign season between our two countries is the money. With a ban on political TV ads in Denmark, cash plays a much smaller role in the blitz for votes here.
       And yes, again, Denmark bans political  TV ads.
There are eight political parties and every political party  in Denmark backs the ban on political ads. One major party leader recently called the ban “the best thing ever.”

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As we all know,  campaign advertising is the use of an advertising campaign through the media to influence political debate, and   ultimately, voters. In the EU, many countries do not permit paid-for TV or radio advertising for fear that wealthy groups will gain control of airtime making fair play impossible and distort the political debate in the process. In both the United Kingdom and Ireland, paid advertisements are forbidden, though political parties are allowed a small number of party political broadcasts in the run up to election time.

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In Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland and Iceland, which have high numbers of women in parliaments, political parties receive state subsidy or some form of assistance (e.g. free, equal broadcasting time on TV and radio for campaigns or party-related activities such as research.Public financing of campaigns is seen as democratic, fair and equitable as both women and men candidates and parties that qualify for government support are given equal amounts for campaigns, thus not only the “wealthy” or those with access to party coffers.

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Other countries encourage women to join the party!

In France, political parties which do not include 50% women in their party lists face sanctions such as reduction or withdrawal of campaign funding support from the government. Generally, public financing of campaigns refers to campaign money provided by the government to a candidate or political party. Public funds may be provided to cover a portion or all of the campaign costs by the candidate or political party. This seems to work well for our neighbors.

             Or, we can let rich corporations continue funding our future.

Indigenous Peoples Day

Seattle Mayor declares ‘ Indigenous People’s Day’.

We have just celebrated Columbus Day, but now this very same day has another function!

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  A day  to reflect on the history of those inhabitants who were uprooted and mistreated through history by others wishing to take control.Although unofficial, the second Monday in October  in Seattle is now Indigenous Peoples’ Day. as Mayor Ed Murray has decreed. 

Native American youth on drums opening the ceremony

The event was a result of local Native American’ efforts for an annual reminder of the harm inflicted on Native Americans by European newcomers such as the explorer Christopher Columbus

Who knew?

 We have celebrated Columbus Day for years, however others have questioned the traditionally known happenings in history and have read of the treatment meted out by “the discoverers” that has not been beneficial to the ‘indigenous  people’. Slowly, the truth has becomes known and the victims recognized. However, the question remains, who really were these ‘original people’ and where did they come from? Columbus thought he was on the edge of India, hence the name ‘Indians’. However, these early ‘Indians’ might have arrived from the far north. 

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The Ice Age found  humans scrambling for food as they followed their prey. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat of the great inland ice sheets, the earliest

inhabitants migrated north into the territory which is now Norway. They traveled steadily   northwards along the coastal areas, warmed by the Gulf Stream, where life was more bearable. In order to survive, they fished and hunted reindeer and other prey. Between 5,000 BC and 4,000 BC, the earliest agricultural settlements appeared around the Oslofjord. 

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The Migration Period, also known as the period of  barbarian invasions or as the Völkerwanderung ("migration of peoples" in German), was a period of  human migration in Europe from about 376 to 800 AD . Everyone was moving to survive the weather and their enemies.The migrants who came first were Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Vandals, Franks; they were later

pushed westwards by the Huns, etc.The Hamburg culture (13,500-11,100 BC) was a culture of reindeer hunters in northwestern Europe probably following the reindeer into present Sami

territory.The first people arrived in Norway after 7,000 BC when rising temperatures after the end of the last ice age made the country habitable. These first Norwegians lived by hunting (elk, deer, seal and whales) and by fishing.The modern  ‘Old Norse’ is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and overseas settlements during the Viking Age until about 1300.Today, Old Norse has developed into the modern North Germanic languages (Icelandic, Faroese, Norwegian, Danish and Sweden)

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When ‘discoverers’ found the Bering Strait land bridge, they more than likely followed it westerly and south. Our American Indigenous People might  be descendants from these travelers as they mixed with travelers paddling from the south. The American Melting-Pot had an early beginning

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When American tourists meet Norwegians in trips to Norway, language becomes an issue.Asking “Snakker du engelsk?” to an elder in Norway,  the answer  “Nei, Jeg snakker norsk” might be heard from a native fairly close to those ‘indigenous people’. However, asking the same question to a younger person would probably result in  their answer with a smile “ Of course, how can I help you?” Norwegian young people speak better English than many of us in America! We have many misconceptions of our superiority, wealth and attitude.

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Many believe Norway and Scandinavian neighbors  are wet and cold countries.The average winter temperature in Oslo, Norway is only about minus 4 degrees Celsius (around 23° our Fahrenheit), which is a bit warmer than the winter temperatures of most American and European cities.July is the hottest month in North Cape with an average temperature of 54°F (12°C) and the coldest is January at 27°F (-3°C) . (It gets colder during Wisconsin’s winter!). 

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  The southern and  the most populous regions of Scandinavia have a temperate climate.   Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has relatively mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Geothermal energy is located along the Mid Atlantic ridge - a deep sea mountain range with a high concentration of volcanoes. Specifically, Iceland gets most of its heating and electricity from five power/heating plants that are

located east of Reykjavik in a particularly geothermal energy-rich area and visitors relax in the warm, healthy  spas. Here in America, we enjoy the geothermal energy at Yellowstone National Park, but federal regulations forbid drilling and utilizing the energy.      

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 Mentioning IKEA brings up beliefs of a Swedish Company owned by Sweden.  While most consider Sweden to be the sole “Owner” of this franchise, IKEA stores are located in many countries. Most of IKEA's operations, including the management of the majority of its stores, the design and manufacture of itsproducts are overseen by a private, for-profit Dutch company.  the IKEA trademark and concept is owned by an entirely separate Dutch company Inter IKEA Systems.Since 1982, the IKEA Group has been owned by a foundation in the Netherlands. 

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And Iceland? 

That must be a cold ice-covered place! Who’d want to visit there? Reykjavik, the capitol of Iceland is known for its famous spas and steamy thermal heat. No need to shovel snow off sidewalks. Nature melts it. Geothermal heat originally comes from the Earth's core, where temperatures may reach 4,000-7,000°C. This heat can come to the surface  in the form of  hot water that seeps through fissures, cracks and permeable rock

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 Perhaps, our feeling of superiority is unfounded. While fiction is more interesting than facts, we might learn something from our ‘Indigenous People’ with a bit more respect.

 Hopefully, the observance of ‘Indigenous Peoples Day’ will become the norm and a federal holiday on the second monday in October every year.

Sorry, Chris.

Really?

 Sometimes it is difficult to sort out the facts from fiction. Beliefs and legends sometimes get confusing.

Soon, we will  enjoy a national holiday called “ Columbus Day”. The day  we chose to recognize ’The Discoverer of  America'. We learned in our elementary school days that “Columbus sailed the ocean blue” in his famous three ships named ‘Nina’, ‘Pinta’ and ‘The Santa Maria”.   A catchphrase designed to help cement that fact into our memory.

Christopher Columbus

When Christopher landed, he was greeted by  “Indians”, the local inhabitants who were not happy to learn more about this visitor as time went on. However, Columbus gets the credit for ‘Discovering America’ and the story is repeated every year in October.

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Leif Erikson

Every red-blooded  American-Norwegian knows that Columbus was far from being  the first European to find these shores. That distinction goes to the Vikings, the legendary Norse warriors and explorers who were raiding and settling many parts of the world from the late 8th to mid 11th century. And so it was the Vikings, not Columbus, who first made contact with the ‘Indians’. It is believed that Norse explorer Leif Erikson  reached Canada perhaps 500 years before Columbus was born. We don’t take the day off, but we will quietly celebrate ‘Leif Erikson Day’ October 9th.  Erikson  is a patronymic and not a family name. (he’s literally Erik’s son’). Evidence seems to point to Vikings making contact with American Indians back in the 10th century, as they explored the northeast coast of America, what they called Vineland (or Vinland).

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Every European ‘Discoverer’ was met by the local inhabitants known as ‘Indians”. Research and artifacts  left behind  have been found in both North and South America and dated to 14,000 BP,( present time). Asian nomads are thought to have entered the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge while the water levels were much lower. Beringia, now the Bering Strait was used as travelers continued  along the coast. Even the Vikings were not the first to set foot on the New World.

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Vikings roamed the European coasts  as settlers as well as raiders. Some did not wish to submit to the wishes of their rulers. Many left their land due to the tyrannical reign of Harald Hårfagre, who united all the petty kingdoms under his rule. Many Norwegian chieftains who were wealthy and respected posed a threat to Harald; therefore, they were subjected to much harassment from Harald, prompting them to vacate the land.

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They, in turn, sailed to nearby islands where

various settlements were established. These ‘settlers’ came into contact with the ‘natives’, who for the most part, were routinely dispatched when found. One of these island refuges was a group of  18 islands situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Norway and Iceland and also close to England. This group of islands became known as The Faroe Islands whose inhabitants were religious and solitary beings thought to be
from England, quietly  living their  anchoritic life , one of the earliest forms of Christian monastic living. Anchorites were supposed to remain in their cells in all eventualities. Their survival in encounters with the wild Viking visitors more than likely resulted in escaping across the Atlantic, perhaps becoming ‘Indians of North America’.

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The Faroe Islands have been a self-governing country within the Danish Realm since 1948.

The Danish name translates as "the islands of sheep". Norse settlement in these Islands can be traced back to sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries CE, with the first Viking to ever set foot on the Faroe Islands around the late 8th century. A Viking longhouse was unearthed during an excavation . Excavations continue, however little evidence of the earlier settlers is likely to be found, but archaeologists believe the anonymous people living in the bleak location in the 4th to 6th centuries AD must have been able to build boats and navigate the surrounding seas.

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The Faroes were the first stepping stone beyond Shetland for the travel of European people across the North Atlantic, continuing on the shores of continental North America in the 11th century AD, about 500 years before Columbus made his famous voyage.

These ‘Anonymous’ people, escaping the harsh treatment of the invading Vikings might have been groups of Europeans who traveled to settle elsewhere.  Early migrants from northeastern Asia could have walked to Alaska with relative ease when a land area now named Beringia was above sea level . This land bridge joined northeast Asia to modern Alaska and formed part of a much larger province called Beringa during the ice age.  20th century  travelers might have found additional
routes by which human beings first reached the Americas, following the southern coastline of Beringia and Alaska, then southward along the coast all the way to the southernmost tip of South America, establishing their new life just in time to greet their Spanish guests, the Italian Columbus and the Scandinavian Leif Erickson . When Columbus landed, he insisted that he was on the western side of "The Indies", so he eventually named the whole island chain "The West Indies". Of course, he called the natives "Indians".

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In this modern age,  in elementary school we still recognize Columbus as an important American
‘discoverer’. By the time we reached high school, we realized he didn’t even reach North America. Researching the event, we even

discovered his ships' names were different. The Santa Maria was known at the time as La Gallega, meaning “The Galician.” The Niña is now believed to be a nickname for a ship originally called the “Santa Clara”, and the Pinta was probably also a nickname, though the ship’s real name isn’t clear. We may have heard that his real name wasn’t even Columbus! Born in Italy, Cristoforo Colombo wanted ships to establish a "round-the-world" route to the wealth of the Indies. He could not get any backing from Italian nobles or merchants, so he went to Spain, and changed his name to Christopher Columbus . The King and Queen reluctantly provided the money and ships, sending  him and his crew sailing to ‘India’ to establish a shorter route to silks, spices and riches. 

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Leif Erickson sights land.

At least, Leif had a good idea where he was going, and the ‘Indians’, however named, were the 'Common Denominator’ in all events, always being the receivers on shore , and always getting ‘the short end of the stick!”

                                 But our history books scarcely recognize Leif Erickson while  Columbus’ journey is highlighted. Columbus even named the inhabitants who greeted the voyagers and the 'Indian' label of the Original Native American has never been changed.

            Happy Cristoforo Colombo Day!