Davis' Birthday
- noun
- US
:
Cumpleaños de Davis
- Some southern states continue to recognize Davis' Birthday as a holiday.
Examples
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Schools in Mississippi used to close in honor of Davis' Birthday.
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The controversy over observing Davis' Birthday has grown in recent years.
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We celebrate Davis' Birthday every June.
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Is Davis' Birthday a public holiday in your state?
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Many families gather to celebrate Davis' Birthday with special events in June.
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Public offices in some regions are closed on Davis' Birthday to observe the holiday.
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In certain parts of the South, Davis' Birthday is still a recognized observance on June 3rd.
Synonyms
A holiday that remembers the birth of Jefferson Davis on June 3 in some southern US states
A holiday in some southern US states marking Jefferson Davis's birthday
Surface Forms
Morphology
Davis' + birthday
The structure is simply a possessive proper name plus 'birthday', so a learner who knows the words will infer it means the birthday of someone named Davis. However, the specific reference to Jefferson Davis and the status of this date as a commemorative holiday in parts of the southern U.S. is cultural/historical knowledge not recoverable from the words themselves, so the expression is only partly predictable.
Etymology
Davis' Birthday comes from the birthday of Davis and the word birthday, which means the day someone was born. Jefferson Davis, who led the southern states during the American Civil War, was born on June 3, so people made that day a holiday to 'honor' and 'remember' him.
