CONNECTICUT

State of Connecticut

ORIGIN OF STATE NAME: From the Mahican word quinnehtukqut, meaning "beside the long tidal river." NICKNAME: The Constitution State (official in 1959); also, the Nutmeg State. CAPITAL: Hartford. ENTERED UNION: 9 January 1788 (5th). SONG: "Yankee Doodle." MOTTO: Qui transtulit sustinet (He who transplanted still sustains). COAT OF ARMS: On a rococo shield, three grape vines, supported and bearing fruit, stand against a white field. Beneath the shield is a streamer bearing the state motto. FLAG: The coat of arms appears on a blue field. OFFICIAL SEAL: The three grape vines and motto of the arms surrounded by the words Sigillum reipublicae Connecticutensis (Seal of the State of Connecticut). ANIMAL: Sperm whale. BIRD: American robin. INSECT: European praying mantis. FLOWER: Mountain laurel. TREE: White oak. MINERAL: Garnet. SHIP: USS Nautilus. LEGAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., 3rd Monday in January; Lincoln's Birthday, 12 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; Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November; Christmas Day, 25 December. TIME: 7 AM EST = noon GMT.