Friday, January 18, 2013

Only in Virginia

While a lovely snow has given school children in our area an extra day off today, it suddenly occurred to me that today was already a State Holiday.

Lee - Jackson Day
Seriously.

It's a big weekend for us in the Old Dominion.
Monday is, of course, Martin Luther King Day...
and the Inauguration.
 Maybe someday we will be the New Dominion.

5 comments:

  1. Webb, I am looking forward to a three day weekend. My snow day (afternoon) was spent in the car trying to get home. Have a wonderful weekend. Bonnie

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  2. Wow! Didnt realize that the snow was that far south, altho i think you are near the Smokies. Enjoy!

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  3. I will show my foreignness here, I can both blame Europeanness and WesternUsness :-). Why are Lee and Jackson celebrated on this day?

    Enjoy the snow! Here it is clear and we are getting back to more normal temps: light frost at night and 60's in daytime. Isn't it time to start the garden?

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    Replies
    1. Well, Anneke, I am so glad you asked!

      Lee (as in Robert E.) and Jackson (as in Stonewall) are still very much revered Civil War generals who were born and reared in Virginia. We used to celebrate them (I guess it was their contributions to the Commonwealth) on the third Monday in January.

      Then Congress passed that pesky (from the viewpoint of many in the Virginia General Assembly) MLK Birthday thing. For about four years we celebrated Lee-Jackson-King Day on the third Monday in January. Yes, I am totally serious. How embarrassing was that?

      Finally, a compromise was struck and we moved the Lee-Jackson Day back to Friday, leaving MLK Day on Monday and giving state employees a four-day weekend (a whole two weeks after their New Years long weekend, but who is counting?)

      No one observes the Friday, except the state government. In fact, most of us try to ignore it. only in Virginia!

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  4. Wow, thank you for that! I cannot believe, yes I can, that briefly combined holiday. That is amazing ...

    Lucky state employees in Virginia who have an extra long weekend.

    I do enjoy history, don't you?

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