Contributed by WR Murphy

Arbor Day is an interesting holiday. It doesn't have a set date, the way the Fourth of July does, nor does it have a set day of the month, the way Thanksgiving does. Instead, Arbor Day varies in time of year from state to state, depending on one simple factor: when the best time of year is for planting trees in that state. To better understand this unique holiday, let's take a look at its history.

Arbor Day was first observed on April 10th, 1874, in Nebraska. The idea for Arbor Day was proposed by J. Sterling Morton, a newspaper man from Detroit who had moved to Nebraska twenty years before. He was an agriculture enthusiast, and came to be a prominent political figure in Nebraska. Over the course of his career there, he was famous for stressing the importance of trees for Nebraska's agriculture: trees keep wind from blowing away soil and newly planted seed, and also provided an important source of fuel and building material to Nebraska's farmers. In 1872, he proposed a holiday for the planting of trees to the State Board of Agriculture. The date was set for April 10th, since early April is a good time to plant trees in Nebraska.

The first Arbor Day was a wild success. Some people estimate that over a million trees were planted, and prizes were given out to people who had planted the greatest number of trees. Later, the Nebraska state government moved the date of the holiday to April 22nd, Morgan's birthday. In Nebraska, and several other states, the holiday is still celebrated on this date, or on the last Friday in April as an approximation of this date. However, in the spirit of Arbor Day, the states that celebrate it do so at a time that's right for the trees to grow and be healthy, ranging from January in some southern states to as late as May in the north.

Virginia recognizes Arbor Day on the last Friday in April, but you don't have to wait until then to celebrate, the Arbor Day Foundation inspires people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees all year long. Click here to see a comprehensive report on what's going on in Virginia to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.