Confederate Holidays
We used to celebrate holidays as a way to commemorate those people and events that make us who we are. Today, it seems that holidays are invented merely to bolster the egos of those in political favor. It certainly was not always that way.
The Southern States designated specific holidays to remember those who sacrificed all to defend their native land. Most of the Confederate holidays are now all but forgotten. It doesn't have to be that way. Just because politicians refuse to recognize Confederate Memorial Day or Jefferson Davis' birthday doesn't mean The South has forgotten.
Mark your calendar and make the Confederate holidays a part of your life. Fly the Confederate flag of your choice; plan a dinner with your fellow Southerners; educate a new generation.
The Confederate Calendar
| January 19 |
Robert E. Lee Birthday - Confederate Heroes Day (TX) |
| January 21 |
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson Birthday |
| February 22 |
Founding of the C.S.A. / Jefferson Davis inaugurated |
| March 4 |
Confederate Flag Day |
| March 27 |
Confederate Day of Prayer, designated by President Jefferson Davis in 1863 as a day of "fasting, humiliation, and prayer" in the Confederate States |
| April 26 |
Confederate Memorial Day in AL, FL, GA, MS |
| May 10 |
Confederate Memorial Day in NC, SC
"Stonewall" Jackson died |
| May 30 |
Confederate Memorial Day in VA |
| June 3 |
Confederate Memorial Day in KY, LA, TN
Jefferson Davis Birthday |
| October 12 |
Robert E. Lee died |
| December 6 |
Jefferson Davis died |
For more dates on the Confederate Calendar, see this Wikipedia page or this SCV site.
Confederate Day of Prayer - March 27
President Jefferson Davis issued the following decree on February 27, 1863:
"To this end I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate State States of America, do issue this my proclamation, setting apart Friday, the 27th day of March, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer; and I do invite the people of the said States to repair on that day to their places of worship, and to join in prayer to Almighty God, that He will preciously restore to our beloved country, the blessing of peace and security. In faith whereof I have hereunto set my hand at the city of Richmond on the twenty-seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three."
Alabama Official Holidays
Section 1-3-8
Holidays enumerated; personal leave days; state holidays observed by closing of state offices; compensatory leave days.
(b) Of the above enumerated legal public holidays, the following shall be observed on the dates herein prescribed:
(1) Robert E. Lee's birthday - the third Monday in January.
(3) Confederate Memorial Day - the fourth Monday in April.
Florida Official Holidays
The 2005 Florida Statutes
Title XXXIX
COMMERCIAL RELATIONS Chapter 683
LEGAL HOLIDAYS; SPECIAL OBSERVANCES
Chapter 683.01 Legal holidays.--
(1) The legal holidays, which are also public holidays, are the following:
(d) Birthday of Robert E. Lee, January 19.
(j) Confederate Memorial Day, April 26.
(l) Birthday of Jefferson Davis, June 3.
(2) Whenever any legal holiday shall fall upon a Sunday, the Monday next following shall be deemed a public holiday for all and any of the purposes aforesaid.
History.--RS 2315, 2316; s. 1, ch. 4198, 1893; s. 1, ch. 4487, 1895; s. 1, ch. 4488, 1895; s. 1, ch. 5275, 1903; s. 1, ch. 5392, 1905; GS 3102; s. 1, ch. 6872, 1915; RGS 4846; CGL 6932; s. 1, ch. 16067, 1933; s. 1, ch. 20250, 1941; s. 1, ch. 20525, 1941; s. 1, ch. 22610, 1945; s. 1, ch. 29926, 1955; s. 1, ch. 69-24; s. 1, ch. 73-44; s. 1, ch. 75-158; s. 1, ch. 77-423; s. 1, ch. 78-30; s. 1, ch. 78-298; s. 1, ch. 90-59.
Georgia Official Holidays
1-4-1.
(a) The State of Georgia shall recognize and observe as public and legal holidays:
(1) All days which have been designated as of January 1, 1984, as public and legal holidays by the federal government; and
(2) All other days designated and proclaimed by the Governor as public and legal holidays or as days of fasting and prayer or other religious observance. In such designation the Governor shall include at least one of the following dates: January 19, April 26, or June 3, or a suitable date in lieu thereof to commemorate the event or events now observed by such dates.
