DELAWARE

State of Delaware

ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: Named for Thomas West, Baron De La Warr, colonial governor of Virginia; the name was first applied to the bay. NICKNAMES: The First State; also, the Diamond State. CAPITAL: Dover. ENTERED UNION: 7 December 1787 (1st). SONG: "Our Delaware." COLORS: Colonial blue and buff. MOTTO: Liberty and Independence. COAT OF ARMS: A farmer and a rifleman flank a shield that bears symbols of the state's agricultural resources—a sheaf of wheat, an ear of corn, and a cow. Above is a ship in full sail; below, a banner with the state motto. FLAG: Colonial blue with the coat of arms on a buff-colored diamond; below the diamond is the date of statehood. OFFICIAL SEAL: The coat of arms surrounded by the words "Great Seal of the State of Delaware 1793, 1847, 1907." The three dates represent the years in which the seal was revised. BIRD: Blue hen chicken. FISH: Sea trout. INSECT: Ladybug. FLOWER: Peach blossom. TREE: American holly. ROCK: Sillimanite. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday, 1st Monday in February; Washington's Birthday, 3rd Monday in February; Good Friday, March or April; Memorial Day, last Monday in May; Independence Day, 4 July; Labor Day, 1st Monday in September; Columbus Day, 2nd Monday in October; Veterans Day, 11 November; General Election Day, 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November in even-numbered years; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. TIME: 7 AM EST = noon GMT.