If you stopped by the State Capitol or a state government agency like the Department of Motor Vehicles on Monday, you probably found the doors locked. State offices were closed in observance of an unnamed state holiday.
The holiday was not always unnamed. It used to be called Confederate Memorial Day. Gov. Nathan Deal removed the day’s Civil War reference in an email to state employees last year.
According to the Georgia state government website, the holiday, traditionally on the last Monday in April, was introduced in 1874. Many other states followed, announcing similar holidays. The site says the day was meant to honor Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War and has been celebrated around the anniversary of the Civil War ending in Georgia after Confederate troops surrendered: April 26, 1865.
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