Florida was first settled by Europeans in 1513, when Spaniard [[Juan Ponce de Leon]] landed near where [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]] stands today. de Leon originally spotted Florida on Easter Sunday, so he named it ''Pascua Florida'', which means "Flowery Easter" in Spanish.<ref>[http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Florida/FloridaNameOrigin.html Florida state name origin]</ref> | Florida was first settled by Europeans in 1513, when Spaniard [[Juan Ponce de Leon]] landed near where [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]] stands today. de Leon originally spotted Florida on Easter Sunday, so he named it ''Pascua Florida'', which means "Flowery Easter" in Spanish.<ref>[http://www.statesymbolsusa.org/Florida/FloridaNameOrigin.html Florida state name origin]</ref> |