Georgia will again observe Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lee’s birthday next year, continuing a Peach State tradition and one followed by only a handful of Southern neighbors.
According to a holiday calendar just released by the state, Lee’s birthday — while actually on Jan. 19 (1807) — will be observed on the day after Thanksgiving. Confederate Memorial Day, which falls on a Sunday next year, will be observed the following Monday, April 27.
They are among the 12 official state holidays in 2015, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday (Jan. 19), Veterans Day (Nov. 11) and George Washington's Birthday (Feb. 16, but observed on Christmas Eve). On holidays, the Capitol and all state agencies will be closed and state employees get a day off.
Georgia until 1984 also recognized former Confederate president Jefferson Davis' Birthday on June 3, but that practice fell by the wayside. State law, however, mandates that the governor commemorate at least one of what have been the state's three traditional Confederate holidays.
Other states that observe at least one Confederate holiday include Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia.
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