(Some) Virginians are in the middle of a long weekend today — Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday, and Friday was Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday in Virginia. Lee-Jackson day falls on Friday and Martin Luther King Day is celebrated on Monday.
Lee-Jackson Day is designated in Virginia to remember two Confederate generals — Robert E. Lee and his “right hand man,” Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. Especially now, with all the controversy swirling about the Civil War and pretty much all things associated with the “South,” the day is somewhat controversial, given that the two generals fought for the Confederacy.
But Lee-Jackson Day has been celebrated in Virginia since 1889. Originally, it was the observance of Robert E. Lee’s birthday, but Jackson was added to the holiday’s name in 1904. After Martin Luther King Jr. Day was made a national holiday in 1983, Virginia designated the holiday as Lee-Jackson-King Day — a one-day, combined celebration. That lasted through 1999. In 2000, the holidays were separated.
Today, some cities in Virginia refuse to observe Lee-Jackson Day and others celebrate it with a great fanfare.
So no matter what your view, if you happen to live in Virginia, there’s at least the potential you may get a 4-day weekend. Admittedly, these days — on the surface at least — seem to contradict each other, but maybe eventually we’ll be able to accept our past for what it was and move on to a brighter future….
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