(CNN)For years, Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lee's birthday have been on Georgia's official state holiday calendar.
Not any more.
The two holidays have been struck from the official calendar and replaced with the innocuous term "state holiday."
A list of 2015 state holidays
on Georgia's website proclaims Robert E. Lee's birthday on January 19,
but notes it will be observed on November 27. It also lists Confederate
Memorial Day on April 26 with its day of observance as April 27.
A new list of 2016 state holidays reflects the change to "state holiday."
The
change comes amid heated debate in the South over what to do with
Confederate symbols and monuments since the killings of nine black
parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina, church. Accused killer
Dylann Roof is believed to be a white supremacist who pledged loyalty to
the Confederate flag.
The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution was first to point out the change, which
was reflected in an email from Gov. Nathan Deal to state employees last
week.
The state still intends to
celebrate the holidays by closing the Capitol and state agency offices,
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson told the newspaper.
"There
will be a state holiday on that day," he said. "Those so inclined can
observe Confederate Memorial Day and remember those who died in that
conflict."
Confederate Memorial Day has a long history in Georgia.
Robert E. Lee was the Confederacy's most celebrated military figure.
Starting
in 1874, Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia was meant to honor the day
Confederate forces surrendered to Gen. William T. Sherman ending the
Civil War in Georgia on April 26, 1865, according to the Georgia government website.
Legend has it that a group of women in Columbus, Georgia, campaigned to
honor those who died during the Civil War, leading to Confederate
Memorial Day. Over the years, the holiday has disappeared and returned,
the website said.
Each year, Georgia's governor has to sign a proclamation
declaring April Confederate History Month and April 26 Confederate
Memorial Day. Same goes for Robert E. Lee's birthday, which is January
19, 1807, although it is typically observed after Thanksgiving. The
state of Georgia first enacted a law making his birthday a state holiday
in 1889.
"The War Between the States marked a very trying time in our nation's history," reads a 2013 proclamation.
"After the way, General Lee accepted the position of President
Washington College in Lexington, Virginia, where he strove to improve
the plight of the war-ravaged South through Christian values, education
and advancement of the youth."
The
proclamation also quotes Winston Churchill, who once said "Lee was the
noblest American who ever lived and was one of the greatest commanders
known to the annals of war."
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