Mississippi state offices closed Monday to honor Confederate Memorial Day

File photo.  (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Credit: Chris Hondros

Credit: Chris Hondros

File photo. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

State offices will be closed Monday in Mississippi in honor of Confederate Memorial Day.

The day observes those who died fighting for the South during the Civil War after those states seceded from the U.S.

Alabama marked the holiday last week.

Critics are opposed to honoring the people who fought to preserve slavery. The Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans said the South fought for "the preservation of liberty and freedom."

Alabama and Mississippi are not the only states that celebrate their Confederate past.

Georgia removed the “Confederate” designation from its holiday in 2015 but state employees still have the day off. Now the last Monday in April is called “State Holiday.”

In South Carolina, Confederate Memorial Day is celebrated in May to mark when Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson died.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.