Editing Virginia (section)

==State symbols==
{{Main|List of Virginia state symbols}}
[[File:2017-06-12 15 45 41 'Welcome to Virginia' sign along eastbound U.S. Route 58 (Wilderness Road) entering Lee County, Virginia from Claiborne County, Tennessee crop.jpg|thumb|The state slogan, "[[Virginia Is for Lovers]]", has been used since 1969 and is featured on state welcome signs.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-is-for-lovers/2021/07/24/65fd0e78-ebfb-11eb-ba5d-55d3b5ffcaf1_story.html |title= Here's the story on 'Virginia is for lovers,' one of history's greatest tourism slogans |first= John |last= Kelly |date= July 24, 2021 |newspaper= The Washington Post |access-date= July 28, 2021}}</ref>|alt=A large rectangular metal sign, mostly black, with the words "Welcome To Virginia" and "Virginia is for lovers" with a red heart symbol on the left stands to the right of a rural road through green hills.]]
Virginia has several nicknames, the oldest of which is the "Old Dominion". King [[Charles II of England]] first referred to "our auntient Collonie of Virginia" one of "our own Dominions" in 1662 or 1663, perhaps choosing this language because Virginia was home to many of his supporters during the [[English Civil War]].{{sfn|Berkeley|Billings|Kimberly|2007|pp=184–185}}{{sfn|Library of Virginia|1994|pp=88}} These supporters were called [[Cavalier]]s, and the nickname "The Cavalier State" was popularized after the [[American Civil War]].{{sfn|Welch|2006|pp=1–3}} Virginia has also been called the "Mother of Presidents", as eight Virginians have served as [[Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state of birth|President of the United States]], including four of the first five.{{sfn|Goodwin|2012|pp=11–13}}

The state's motto, ''[[Sic semper tyrannis|Sic Semper Tyrannis]]'', translates from [[Latin]] as "Thus Always to Tyrants", and is used on the state seal, which is then used on the flag.<ref name="sic"/> While the seal was designed in 1776, and the flag was first used in the 1830s, both were made official in 1930.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pilotonline.com/news/article_36f89ba4-ca4a-529a-be8f-31e8c1736068.html |title=Cuccinelli opts for more modest Virginia state seal |first= Julian |last= Walker |newspaper= The Virginian-Pilot |date= May 1, 2010 |access-date= June 7, 2020}}</ref> In 1940, "[[Carry Me Back to Old Virginny]]" was named the [[List of U.S. state songs|state song]], but it was retired in 1997 due to its nostalgic references to slavery. In March 2015, Virginia's government named "[[Our Great Virginia]]", which uses the tune of "[[Oh Shenandoah]]", as the traditional state song and "[[Sweet Virginia Breeze]]" as the popular state song.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/listen-virginia-now-has-2-state-songs|title=Listen: Virginia Now Has 2 State Songs|last=Hambrick|work=Patch|date=March 27, 2015|access-date=July 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711062929/http://patch.com/virginia/fairfaxcity/listen-virginia-now-has-2-state-songs|archive-date=July 11, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
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* [[List of U.S. state beverages|Beverages]]: [[Milk]], [[George Washington's Rye Whiskey|Rye Whiskey]]
* [[List of U.S. state ships|Boat]]: [[Chesapeake Bay deadrise]]
* [[List of U.S. state birds|Bird]]: [[Northern cardinal|Cardinal]]
* [[List of U.S. state dances|Dance]]: [[Square dance|Square dancing]]
* [[List of U.S. state mammals|Dog]]: [[American Foxhound]]
* [[List of U.S. state fish|Fish]]: [[Brook trout]], [[striped bass]]
* [[List of U.S. state flowers|Flower]]/[[List of U.S. state trees|Tree]]: [[Cornus florida|Dogwood]]
* [[List of U.S. state fossils|Fossil]]: ''[[Chesapecten jeffersonius]]''
* [[List of U.S. state insects|Insect]]: [[Papilio glaucus|Tiger swallowtail]]
* [[List of U.S. state mammals|Mammal]]: [[Virginia big-eared bat]]
* [[List of U.S. state mottos|Motto]]: [[Sic semper tyrannis|Sic Semper Tyrannis]]
* [[List of U.S. state nicknames|Nickname]]: The Old Dominion
* [[List of U.S. state horses|Pony]]: [[Chincoteague pony]]
* [[List of U.S. state shells|Shell]]: [[Eastern oyster]]
* [[Place branding|Slogan]]: [[Virginia is for Lovers]]
* [[List of U.S. state songs|Songs]]: "[[Our Great Virginia]]", "[[Sweet Virginia Breeze]]"
* [[List of U.S. state tartans|Tartan]]: [[Virginia Quadricentennial tartan|Virginia Quadricentennial]]
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