Reply #9: AND it is Lee-Jackson Day in Virginia!!! [View All]

[underpants]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Jackson_Day

Lee-Jackson Day is a holiday celebrated in the U.S. state of Virginia for the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The original holiday, created in 1889, celebrated Lee's birthday. Jackson's name was added to the holiday in 1904. Lee-Jackson Day is currently observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and results in the closing of state offices such as the DMV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee-Jackson-King_Day

Lee-Jackson-King Day was a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1984 to 2000.

Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19, 1807) has been celebrated as a Virginia holiday since 1889. In 1904, the legislature added the birthday of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824) to the holiday, and Lee-Jackson Day was born.

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan approved an Act of Congress declaring January 15 to be a national holiday in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Since 1978, Virginia had celebrated King's birthday in conjunction with New Year's Day. To align with the federal holiday, the Virginia legislature simply combined King's celebration with the existing Lee-Jackson holiday.

The incongruous nature of the holiday, which simultaneously celebrated the lives of Confederate generals and a civil rights icon, did not escape the notice of Virginia lawmakers. Legislators protested the holiday by waving pictures of Jesse Jackson, Spike Lee, and Martin Luther King, Jr. around the state capitol.

In 2000, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore (NOW running for President :bounce: :eyes: )proposed splitting Lee-Jackson-King Day into two separate holidays, with Lee-Jackson Day to be celebrated the Friday before what would become Martin Luther King Day. The measure was approved and the two holidays are now celebrated separately.