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148-869: The Virginia Lottery is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia . It was created in 1987 when Virginians voted in a statewide referendum in favor of a state lottery. The first ticket was sold on September 20, 1988. All profits from Virginia Lottery ticket sales go to K-12 public education, as required by Virginia's constitution. In Fiscal Year 2024, the Lottery's profits totaled more than $ 934 million, accounting for approximately 10 percent of school funding in Virginia. That brought total Lottery profits in Virginia (from 1989 through June 2024) to more than $ 16 billion. Daily draw games include Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5, which are drawn twice daily, and Cash 5 ; with one drawing
296-481: A charter for a new colony to the Virginia Company of London . The group financed an expedition under Christopher Newport that established a settlement named Jamestown in 1607. Though more settlers soon joined, many were ill-prepared for the dangers of the new settlement. As the colony's president, John Smith secured food for the colonists from nearby tribes, but after he left in 1609, this trade stopped and
444-605: A first language . Spanish is the next most commonly spoken language, with 7.5% (611,831) of Virginia households, though age is a factor; 8.7% (120,560) of Virginians under age eighteen speak Spanish. Of Spanish speakers, 60.6% reported speaking English "very well", but again, of those under age eighteen, 78.7% speak English "very well". Arabic was the third most commonly spoken language with around 0.8% of residents, followed by Chinese languages and Vietnamese each with over 0.7%, and then Korean and Tagalog , just under 0.7% and 0.6% respectively. New Year%27s Day In
592-639: A group of Spanish Jesuits , explored the Chesapeake Bay during the 16th century. To help counter Spain's colonies in the Caribbean , Queen Elizabeth I of England supported Walter Raleigh 's 1584 expedition to the Atlantic coast of North America . The name "Virginia" was used by Captain Arthur Barlowe in the expedition's report, and may have been suggested by Raleigh or Elizabeth (perhaps noting her status as
740-460: A leap year , 2020 had 366 days). Drawings are held nightly at 9pm Eastern Time . Mega Millions is a drawing game played in Virginia and most other U. S. states (Virginia is one of the original six states to first offer the game in 1996 when it was known as "The Big Game"). Jackpots start at $ 20 million and grow with each drawing in which there is no jackpot winner. Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays. Players select five numbers, 1 through 70, plus
888-532: A racially segregated society , and in 1902 rewrote the state constitution to include a poll tax and other voter registration measures that effectively disenfranchised most African Americans and many poor whites. New economic forces meanwhile industrialized the Commonwealth. Virginian James Albert Bonsack invented the tobacco cigarette rolling machine in 1880 leading to new large-scale production centered around Richmond. Railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington founded Newport News Shipbuilding in 1886, which
1036-425: A raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia , in an attempt to start a slave revolt across the southern states. The polarized national response to his raid, capture, trial, and execution that December marked a tipping point for many who believed slavery would need to be ended by force. Abraham Lincoln 's 1860 election further convinced many southern supporters of slavery that his opposition to its expansion would ultimately mean
1184-402: A series of ambush-style killings between colonists and natives under Chief Powhatan and his brother began, resulting in mass starvation in the colony that winter. By the end of the colony's first fourteen years, over eighty percent of the roughly eight thousand settlers transported there had died. Demand for exported tobacco , however, fueled the need for more workers. Starting in 1618,
1332-420: A $ 10 wager). Cash4Life is a drawing game currently offered in ten states, including Virginia. Tickets cost $ 2, and players pick 5 numbers from a pool of 60 and 1 "Cash Ball" number from a pool of 4. The top prize (for matching all numbers) is the choice of $ 365,000 a year for life or a $ 7,000,000 lump sum, subject to a liability limit (the original prize claim was for $ 1,000 a day but was changed in 2020 since, as
1480-662: A Christian context is traced back to the Biblical Magi who gave gifts to the Christ Child . In Tudor England , 1 January (as the Feast of the Circumcision, not New Year's Day), along with Christmas Day and Twelfth Night , was celebrated as one of three main festivities among the twelve days of Christmastide . Most nations of Europe and their colonies officially adopted 1 January as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted
1628-485: A Mega Ball number, 1 through 25. Players also have the option to use the Megaplier , which increases the ticket price by $ 1 each but raises the value of any non-jackpot prizes won. A ticket matching all six numbers win the jackpot. The jackpot is pari-mutuel, meaning that if multiple tickets match all six numbers, each of them receives an equal share of the total jackpot. Mega Millions jackpot are offered as an annuity, although
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#17331042746241776-697: A bloody Confederate victory. Union General George B. McClellan organized the Army of the Potomac , which landed on the Virginia Peninsula in March 1862 and reached the outskirts of Richmond that June. With Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston wounded in fighting outside the city, command of his Army of Northern Virginia fell to Robert E. Lee . Over the next month, Lee drove the Union army back , and starting that September led
1924-460: A cash option is also available. The odds of matching all six numbers to win the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24. Nine Mega Millions jackpots have been won in Virginia. Powerball is a drawing game in which players try to match five numbers from 1 through 69, plus a Powerball number from 1 through 26. A ticket that matches all six numbers wins
2072-439: A century, at a magnitude of 5.8, struck central Virginia on August 23, 2011 . 35 million years ago, a bolide impacted what is now eastern Virginia. The resulting Chesapeake Bay impact crater may explain what earthquakes and subsidence the region does experience. A meteor impact is also theorized as the source of Lake Drummond , the largest of the two natural lakes in the state . The Commonwealth's carbonate rock
2220-401: A choice of cash or annuity. When a Virginia top-prize winner of Mega Millions, Powerball or Cash4Life is claimed, the Lottery purchases sufficient U.S. Government bonds to cover the prize. (A cash option winner of Mega Millions or Powerball receives the "lump sum" in two installments as both games are offered by multiple lotteries.) The actual cash value depends on the market value of the bonds on
2368-464: A convention established by NASA , the Martian year begins on its Northward equinox , the spring equinox of its northern hemisphere. Its most recent New Year's Day (of MY 37) coincided with 26 December 2022 on Earth's Gregorian calendar. New Year's Day of MY 38 will coincide with 12 November 2024. The first of January represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of
2516-412: A day. The Virginia Lottery also offers numerous scratchers . It is one of 46 lotteries which sells Mega Millions tickets, and one of 47 offering Powerball. Cash4Life is nightly; Mega Millions is drawn Tuesdays and Fridays, while Powerball is drawn Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Bank A Million is also drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Lottery maintains elaborate security procedures to protect
2664-531: A governor who ignored the assembly and sent him back to England against his will. William Berkeley was named governor in 1642, just as the turmoil of the English Civil War and Interregnum permitted the colony greater autonomy. As a supporter of the king, Berkeley welcomed other Cavaliers who fled to Virginia. He surrendered to Parliamentarians in 1652, but after the 1660 Restoration made him governor again, he blocked assembly elections and exacerbated
2812-608: A major urban business and shopping center in Tysons , Virginia's largest office market. Neighboring Prince William County , with over 450,000 residents, is Virginia's second-most populous county and home to Marine Corps Base Quantico , the FBI Academy , and Manassas National Battlefield Park . Arlington County is the smallest self-governing county in the U.S. by land area, and local politicians have proposed reorganizing it as an independent city due to its high density. Loudoun County
2960-409: A maximum prize of $ 1 million (by matching all the numbers in a 10-number $ 10 wager). Cash Pop is a drawing game based on the drawing of a single number from 1 to 15. Players can choose to wager on as many of the numbers as they wish for a given drawing, paying for each number covered. Each ticket has a base odds of 15-to-1, but the prize is different for each ticket, even for the same number; the higher
3108-437: A national park, but is protected by both state and federal legislation and the inter-state Chesapeake Bay Program . Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 38 independent cities , which the U.S. Census Bureau describes as county-equivalents . This general method of treating cities and counties on par with each other is unique to Virginia and stretches back to the influence of Williamsburg and Norfolk in
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#17331042746243256-458: A new game: Print 'n Play × (Times) the Money, based on a popular series of scratchers. In addition, the Lottery offers Print 'n Play Rolling Jackpot. Unlike the other Print n’ Play games, the top prize of this game is based on a rolling jackpot that builds over time. The game cam be played for $ 2, $ 5, or $ 10, with the top prize of each being 20%, 50%, and 100% of the jackpot, respectively. If a top prize
3404-613: A number of sets; and detailed records of "test" drawings are maintained to prevent systematic biases. In addition, forging lottery tickets, or tampering with a Lottery drawing is a Class 5 felony. All Virginia Lottery employees and applicants to become Lottery sales agents are fingerprinted and subject to criminal background checks. Theft of Virginia Lottery tickets are investigated by both the Lottery Investigators and local law enforcement agencies. Lottery Investigators are fully sworn Law Enforcement Officers. Per Virginia law it vests
3552-606: A person must be at least 18 years old and physically located in Virginia. Online sales began on July 1, 2020, the first day allowed under a change in state law that had previously banned online play. Within the first 12 months, online sales in Virginia surpassed $ 807 million. The Virginia Lottery also has a mobile app that provides players with drawing results, a ticket checker, and mobile playslips that can be scanned by retailers to make wagering easier. Virginia Lottery drawings are conducted under elaborate security protocols. The set of balls used for each drawing are randomly selected from
3700-624: A referendum and went into effect in 1971. In 1989, Douglas Wilder became the first African American elected as governor in the United States, and in 1992, Bobby Scott became the first Black congressman from Virginia since 1888. The expansion of federal government offices into Northern Virginia's suburbs during the Cold War boosted the region's population and economy. The Central Intelligence Agency outgrew their offices in Foggy Bottom during
3848-459: A scratcher is currently $ 10 million (annuitized): offered on select $ 30 games. Winners of scratcher annuity prizes of at least $ 1 million can choose cash (just as in the top prizes in Powerball, Mega Millions, or Cash4Life). The Lottery also offers Print 'n Play games. As with traditional Lottery games, tickets are printed by the terminal; however as in scratchers, winning status are determined when
3996-909: A strategy called " massive resistance ", and the General Assembly passed a package of laws in 1956 that cut off funding to local schools that desegregated , causing some to close. Courts ruled the strategy unconstitutional, and on February 2, 1959, Black students integrated schools in Arlington and Norfolk , where they were known as the Norfolk 17 . County leaders in Prince Edward, however, instead shut their school system in June 1959. The Supreme Court ordered them to reopen and integrate their public schools , which finally happened in September 1964. Federal passage of
4144-602: A strong effect on eastern and southeastern coastal areas, making the climate there warmer but also more constant. Most of Virginia's recorded extremes in temperature and precipitation have occurred in the Blue Ridge Mountains and areas west. Virginia receives an average of 43.47 inches (110 cm) of precipitation annually, with the Shenandoah Valley being the state's driest region. Virginia has around 35–45 days with thunderstorms annually, and storms are common in
4292-509: A superstition against allowing Rome's market days to fall on the kalends of January and the pontiffs employed intercalation to avoid its occurrence. The Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar . It took effect on 1 January 45 BC , by edict. The calendar became the predominant calendar in the Roman Empire and subsequently, most of
4440-429: Is $ 1. The top prize is a parimutuel jackpot that starts at $ 200,000 and grows until there is a 5-of-5 winner. Players also win if they match 2, 3, or 4 numbers in any given position. Drawings are held on every night at 11PM. An additional "fast-play" element called EZ Match is available as an option (for an additional $ 1 per play). This will add numbers to be matched against the ticket for prizes up to $ 500. Bank A Million
4588-411: Is a drawing game offering a top prize of $ 1,000,000 after the tax withholding. Drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Players choose 6 of 40 numbers. The minimum bet is $ 2; however, players have the option of splitting the wager into two $ 1 plays or four 50-cent plays. The Lottery draws six numbers plus a Bonus Ball. The top prize (matching the first six numbers) on a $ 2 wager is $ 1,000,000; however
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4736-754: Is a member of the Virginia Partnership for Gaming and Health. Virginia law requires that each ticket include a telephone number for a counseling service that addresses compulsive gambling. That number links to the Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline, which is maintained the VCPG. The Lottery also includes information on compulsive gambling on its website. and has produced Problem Gambling and Play Responsibly public service announcements for TV and radio. The Lottery supports National Problem Gambling Awareness Month. Virginia Virginia , officially
4884-736: Is an independent agency, separate from the other branches of government. The Lottery is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed by the Governor. Khalid R. Jones was appointed as the Lottery's Executive Director by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in April 2024.The department is governed by a seven-member board, with each member appointed by the Governor to serve a five-year term. In Fiscal Year 2024, Lottery sales were more than $ 5.5 billion. The lottery generated more than $ 934 million for public education, $ 4.2 billion went back to players as prizes, and more than $ 142 million
5032-602: Is called the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, named after the river of the same name that flows through it. The Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, south of the Allegheny Plateau . In this region, rivers flow northwest into the Ohio River basin. The Virginia Seismic Zone has not had a history of regular earthquake activity. Earthquakes are rarely above 4.5 in magnitude . The Commonwealth's largest earthquake in at least
5180-583: Is claimed, the jackpot is reduced accordingly and then, respectively, $ 10,000, $ 25,000, or $ 50,000 is added back in to ensure a minimum jackpot of $ 50,000 at any time. Many Virginia Lottery games can be played online, at the Lottery’s website valottery.com or using the Virginia Lottery mobile app. This includes Mega Millions, Powerball, Cash4Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Cash 5 with EZ Match and many instant-win games available online only. In order to play online,
5328-654: Is driven by technology companies and U.S. federal government agencies. Hampton Roads is also the site of the region's main seaport and Naval Station Norfolk , the world's largest naval base. Virginia's history begins with several Indigenous groups , including the Powhatan . In 1607, the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent English colony in the New World , leading to Virginia's nickname as
5476-480: Is filled with more than 4,000 limestone caves , ten of which are open for tourism, including the popular Luray Caverns and Skyline Caverns . Virginia's iconic Natural Bridge is the remaining roof of a collapsed limestone cave. Coal mining takes place in the three mountainous regions. More than 72 million tons of other non-fuel resources, such as slate , kyanite , sand, or gravel, were mined in Virginia in 2020 . The largest known deposits of uranium in
5624-683: Is part of the Atlantic Plain , and the Middle Peninsula forms the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay . Central Virginia lies predominantly in the Piedmont , the foothill region of the Blue Ridge Mountains , which cross the western and southwestern parts of the state. The fertile Shenandoah Valley fosters the state's most productive agricultural counties, while the economy in Northern Virginia
5772-409: Is played like in many other lotteries and casinos. Players wager from $ 1 to $ 10 on 1 to 10 numbers of their choice out of a pool of 80 numbers for up to the next 20 drawings. The ticket they play applies to the next drawing(s), which occur at 4-minute intervals minus shutdown time for maintenance. Winnings depend on how many numbers were chosen, how many of those were matched, and the amount wagered, with
5920-540: Is the fastest-growing county in the state. In western Virginia, Roanoke city and Montgomery County , part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area , both have surpassed a population of 100,000 since 2018. On the western edge of the Tidewater region is Virginia's capital, Richmond , which has a population of around 230,000 in its city proper and over 1.3 million in its metropolitan area. On
6068-807: The Baby New Year (or the "New Year"), an infant wearing a sash with the new year printed on it. Babies born on New Year's Day are commonly called New Year babies . Hospitals, such as the Dyersburg Regional Medical Center in the US, give out prizes to the first baby born in that hospital in the new year. These prizes are often donated by local businesses. Prizes may include various baby-related items such as baby formula , baby blankets , diapers , and gift certificates to stores which specialise in baby-related merchandise. On New Year's Day in Antarctica ,
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6216-619: The Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge , which marks the beginning of the Outer Banks . State agencies control about one-third of protected land in the state, and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation manages over 75,900 acres (307.2 km ) in forty Virginia state parks and 59,222 acres (239.7 km ) in 65 Natural Area Preserves , plus three undeveloped parks. Breaks Interstate Park crosses
6364-676: The Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965), and their later enforcement by the Justice Department , helped end racial segregation in Virginia and overturn Jim Crow laws . In 1967, the Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on interracial marriage with Loving v. Virginia . In 1968, Governor Mills Godwin called a commission to rewrite the state constitution. The new constitution, which banned discrimination and removed articles that now violated federal law, passed in
6512-555: The Committee of Nine . During the post-war Reconstruction era , African Americans were able to unite in communities, particularly around Richmond , Danville , and the Tidewater region , and take a greater role in Virginia society; many achieved some land ownership during the 1870s. Virginia adopted a constitution in 1868 which guaranteed political, civil, and voting rights , and provided for free public schools. However, with many railroad lines and other infrastructure destroyed during
6660-725: The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains . The state's capital is Richmond and its most populous city is Virginia Beach . Its most populous subdivision is Fairfax County , part of Northern Virginia , where slightly over a third of Virginia's population of 8.7 million live. Eastern Virginia
6808-515: The Gregorian calendar , New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year , 1 January. Most solar calendars (like the Gregorian and Julian) begin the year regularly at or near the northern winter solstice , while cultures and religions that observe a lunisolar or lunar calendar celebrate their Lunar New Year at less fixed points relative to the solar year . In pre-Christian Rome under
6956-463: The Julian calendar , the day was dedicated to Janus , god of gateways and beginnings, for whom January is also named. From Roman times until the middle of the 18th century, the new year was celebrated at various stages and in various parts of Christian Europe on 25 December, on 1 March, on 25 March and on the movable feast of Easter . In the present day, with most countries now using
7104-687: The Kingdom of Great Britain and the British Empire at the time had retained 25 March as the official start of the year, although informal use of 1 January had become common. With the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 , Britain and the Empire formally adopted 1 January as New Year's Day in 1752 and, with the same Act, also discarded the Julian calendar at the end of Wednesday, 2 September of that same year (though
7252-822: The Korean War , and moved to Langley in 1961, in part due to a decision by the National Security Council that the agency relocate outside the District of Columbia. The Pentagon , built in Arlington during World War II as the headquarters of the Department of Defense, was struck by a hijacked plane in the September 11, 2001 attacks . Mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and in Virginia Beach in 2019 led to passage of gun control measures in 2020. Racial injustice and
7400-607: The Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville . The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the Commonwealth, the tallest being Mount Rogers at 5,729 feet (1,746 m). The Ridge-and-Valley region is west of the mountains, carbonate rock based, and includes the Massanutten Mountain ridge and the Great Appalachian Valley , which
7548-701: The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria had over 5,050. High-school student Barbara Rose Johns started a strike in 1951 at her underfunded and segregated school in Prince Edward County . The protests led Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill to file a lawsuit against the county . Their case joined Brown v. Board of Education at the Supreme Court, which rejected the doctrine of " separate but equal " in 1954. The segregationist establishment, led by Senator Harry F. Byrd and his Byrd Organization , reacted with
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#17331042746247696-935: The Tutelo , who spoke Siouan , to the west. In response to threats from these other groups to their trade network, thirty or so Virginia Algonquian -speaking tribes consolidated during the 1570s under Wahunsenacawh, known in English as Chief Powhatan . Powhatan controlled more than 150 settlements that had a total population of around 15,000 in 1607. Three-fourths of the native population in Virginia, however, died from smallpox and other Old World diseases during that century, disrupting their oral traditions and complicating research into earlier periods. Additionally, many primary sources, including those that mention Powhatan's daughter, Pocahontas , were created by Europeans, who may have held biases or misunderstood native social structures and customs. Several European expeditions, including
7844-801: The Union , which led to the separation of West Virginia in 1863. Although the state was under one-party rule for nearly a century following the Reconstruction era , both major political parties have been competitive in Virginia since the repeal of Jim Crow laws in the 1970s. Virginia's state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly , which was established in July 1619, making it the oldest current law-making body in North America . Unlike other states, cities and counties in Virginia function as equals, but
7992-552: The Virginia big-eared bat , the state mammal . The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial native to the United States and Canada, and the native Appalachian cottontail was recognized in 1992 as a distinct species of rabbit, one of three found in the state. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in Virginia's coastal waters, with bottlenose dolphins being the most frequent aquatic mammals . Virginia's bird fauna comprises 422 counted species, of which 359 are regularly occurring and 214 have bred in Virginia, while
8140-437: The Western world for more than 1,600 years. The Roman calendar began the year on 1 January, and this remained the start of the year after the Julian reform. However, even after local calendars were aligned to the Julian calendar, they started the new year on different dates. The Alexandrian calendar in Egypt started on 29 August (30 August after an Alexandrian leap year). Several local provincial calendars were aligned to start on
8288-500: The breeding of slaves , often through rape, a profitable business. Slaves in the Richmond area were also forced into industrial jobs, including mining and shipbuilding. The failed slave uprisings of Gabriel Prosser in 1800, George Boxley in 1815, and Nat Turner in 1831, however, marked the growing resistance to slavery. Afraid of further uprisings, Virginia's government in the 1830s encouraged free Blacks to migrate to Liberia . On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown led
8436-431: The class divide by disenfranchising and restricting the movement of indentured servants, who made up around eighty percent of the workforce. On the colony's frontier, tribes like the Tutelo and Doeg were being squeezed by Seneca raiders from the north, leading to more confrontations with colonists. In 1676, several hundred working-class followers of Nathaniel Bacon , upset by Berkeley's refusal to retaliate against
8584-549: The headright system tried to solve this by granting colonists farmland for their help attracting indentured servants . Enslaved Africans were first sold in Virginia in 1619. Though other Africans arrived as indentured servants and could be freed after four to seven years, the basis for lifelong slavery was developed in legal cases like those of John Punch in 1640 and John Casor in 1655. Laws passed in Jamestown defined slavery as race-based in 1661, as inherited maternally in 1662, and as enforceable by death in 1669. From
8732-493: The old Roman style ; 25 March in honour of Lady Day (the Feast of the Annunciation , the date of the conception of Jesus); and on the movable feast of Easter . As a date in the Christian calendar, New Year's Day liturgically marked the Feast of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus , which is still observed as such in the Anglican Church , the Lutheran Church , the Eastern Orthodox Church (Julian calendar, see below ) and in Traditional Catholicism by those who retain
8880-462: The siege of Yorktown . His surrender on October 19, 1781, led to peace negotiations in Paris and secured the independence of the colonies. Virginians were instrumental in writing the United States Constitution : James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1789. Virginia ratified the Constitution on June 25, 1788. The three-fifths compromise ensured that Virginia, with its large number of slaves, initially had
9028-446: The state fish . Downhill in the Piedmont, stripeback darter and Roanoke bass become common, as do swampfish , bluespotted sunfish , and pirate perch in the Tidewater . The Chesapeake Bay hosts clams, oysters, and 350 species of saltwater and estuarine fish , including the bay's most abundant finfish, the Bay anchovy , as well as the invasive blue catfish . An estimated 317 million Chesapeake blue crabs live in
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#17331042746249176-497: The "Virgin Queen" or that they viewed the land as being untouched) or related to an Algonquin phrase, Wingandacoa or Windgancon , or leader's name, Wingina , as heard by the expedition. The name initially applied to the entire coastal region from South Carolina in the south to Maine in the north, along with the island of Bermuda . Raleigh's colony failed, but the potential financial and strategic gains still captivated many English policymakers. In 1606, King James I issued
9324-441: The 1930s to over one million by the 2010s. Native carnivorans include black bears , who have a population of around five to six thousand in the state, as well as bobcats , coyotes , both gray and red foxes , raccoons , weasels and skunks . Rodents include groundhogs , nutria , beavers , both gray squirrels and fox squirrels , chipmunks, and Allegheny woodrats , while the seventeen bat species include brown bats and
9472-416: The 2022–2023 winter season. Climate change in Virginia is leading to higher temperatures year-round as well as more heavy rain and flooding events. Urban heat islands can be found in many Virginia cities and suburbs, particularly in neighborhoods linked to historic redlining . The air in Virginia has statistically improved since 1998. The closure and conversion of coal power plants in Virginia and
9620-427: The Appalachian Mountains can lead to significant snowfalls across the state, such as the January 2016 blizzard , which created the state's highest recorded one-day snowfall of 36.6 inches (93 cm) near Bluemont . On average, cities in Virginia can receive between 5.8–12.3 inches (15–31 cm) of snow annually, but recent winters have seen below-average snowfalls, and much of Virginia had no measurable snow during
9768-678: The Black population was reduced by the Great Migration to northern industrial cities in the first half of the 20th century, since 1965 there has been a reverse migration of Blacks returning south . The Commonwealth has the highest number of Black-white interracial marriages in the US , and 8.2% of Virginians describe themselves as multiracial . More recent immigration since the late 20th century has resulted in new communities of Hispanics and Asians. As of 2020 , 10.5% of Virginia's total population describe themselves as Hispanic or Latino , and 8.8% as Asian . The state's Hispanic population rose by 92% from 2000 to 2010, with two-thirds of Hispanics in
9916-399: The Census Bureau recognizes several hundred unincorporated communities . Over three million people, 35% of Virginians, live in the twenty jurisdictions collectively defined as Northern Virginia , part of the larger Washington metropolitan area and the Northeast megalopolis . Fairfax County , with more than 1.1 million residents, is Virginia's most populous jurisdiction, and has
10064-469: The Civil War, the Commonwealth was deeply in debt, and in the late 1870s redirected money from public schools to pay bondholders. The Readjuster Party formed in 1877 and won legislative power in 1879 by uniting Black and white Virginians behind a shared opposition to debt payments and the perceived plantation elites . The Readjusters focused on building up schools, like Virginia Tech and Virginia State , and successfully forced West Virginia to share in
10212-431: The Director, the director of security, and investigators of the State Lottery Department with the powers of sheriffs in enforcing the statutes and regulations relating to the lottery. The Virginia Lottery has an extensive and nationally-recognized Play Responsibly program aimed at informing people about problem gambling and gambling addiction. The Lottery works closely with the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VCPG) and
10360-577: The Great Dismal and Nottoway swamps. Other common trees include red spruce, Atlantic white cedar , tulip-poplar , and the flowering dogwood , the state tree and flower . Plants like milkweed , dandelions, daisies, ferns, and Virginia creeper , which is featured on the state flag , are also common. The Thompson Wildlife Area in Fauquier is known for having one of the largest populations of trillium wildflowers in North America. White-tailed deer , one of 75 mammal species found in Virginia, rebounded from an estimated population of as few as 25,000 in
10508-496: The Gregorian calendar . France changed to 1 January from 1564, most of Germany did so from 1544, the Netherlands from 1556 or 1573 according to sect, Italy ( pre-unification ) did so on a variety of dates, Spain and Portugal from 1556, Sweden, Norway and Denmark from 1599, Scotland from 1600, and Russia from 1700 or 1725. England, Wales, Ireland, and Britain's American colonies adopted 1 January as New Year's Day from 1752. Until Tuesday, 31 December 1751 (except Scotland),
10656-444: The Gregorian calendar as their civil calendar , 1 January according to Gregorian calendar is among the most celebrated of public holidays in the world, often observed with fireworks at the stroke of midnight following New Year's Eve as the new year starts in each time zone. Other global New Year's Day traditions include making New Year's resolutions and calling one's friends and family. The ancient Babylonian calendar
10804-756: The Iroquois, and other allied tribes on both sides. A militia from several British colonies, called the Virginia Regiment , was led by Major George Washington , himself one of the investors in the Ohio Company. In the decade following the French and Indian War , the British Parliament passed new taxes which were deeply unpopular in the colonies, and in the House of Burgesses ; opposition to taxation without representation
10952-538: The Julian Calendar for ecclesiastical purposes. As 1 January (Julian) equates to 14 January (Gregorian), a religious celebration of the New Year on this date may seem strange to Western eyes. In cultures and religions that traditionally or currently use calendars other than the Gregorian, New Year's Day is often also an important celebration. Some countries concurrently use Gregorian and another calendar. New Year's Day in
11100-455: The Kentucky border and is one of only two inter-state parks in the United States. Sustainable logging is allowed in 26 state forests managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry totaling 71,972 acres (291.3 km ), as is hunting in 44 Wildlife Management Areas run by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources covering over 205,000 acres (829.6 km ). The Chesapeake Bay is not
11248-505: The Lottery offers "Pick 3", "Pick 4," "Pick 5", "Cash 5," "Bank a Million," "New Year's Millionaire Raffle," and "Keno." Virginia offers three, four and five digit games that are similar to those of other US lotteries. All 3 of them are drawn twice daily, at 2PM and 11PM. The maximum prize on a single $ 1 play are $ 500 in Pick 3 $ 5,000 in Pick 4 and $ 50,000 in Pick 5. Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5 players can also add "Fireball" to their play. For double
11396-614: The May 23 referendum, armed pro-Confederate groups prevented the casting and counting of votes from areas that opposed secession. Representatives from 27 of these northwestern counties instead began the Wheeling Convention , which organized a government loyal to the Union and led to the separation of West Virginia as a new state. The armies of the Union and Confederacy first met on July 21, 1861, in Battle of Bull Run near Manassas, Virginia ,
11544-549: The Ohio Valley region has helped cut the amount of particulate matter in Virginia's air in half. Current plans call for 30% of the Commonwealth's electricity to be renewable by 2030 and for all to be carbon-free by 2050. Forests cover 62% of Virginia as of 2021 , of which 80% is considered hardwood forest, meaning that trees are primarily deciduous and broad-leaved . The other 20% is pine, with loblolly and shortleaf pine dominating much of central and eastern Virginia. In
11692-806: The Old Dominion . Slaves from Africa and land from displaced native tribes fueled the growing plantation economy, but also fueled conflicts both inside and outside the colony. Virginians fought for the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution , and helped establish the new national government. During the American Civil War , the state government in Richmond joined the Confederacy , while many northwestern counties remained loyal to
11840-628: The Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck ] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]." However, on the date that European Christians celebrated the Feast of the Circumcision, they exchanged Christmas presents because the feast fell within the 12 days of the Christmas season in the Western Christian liturgical calendar ; The custom of exchanging Christmas gifts in
11988-649: The U.S. Census Bureau found that only 0.5% of Virginians were exclusively American Indian or Alaska Native , though 2.1% were in some combination with other ethnicities. The state government has extended recognition to eleven tribes. Seven tribes also have federal recognition. The Pamunkey and Mattaponi have reservations on tributaries of the York River in the Tidewater region . [REDACTED] American Community Survey five-year estimate According to U.S. Census data as of 2022 on Virginia residents aged five and older, 83% (6,805,548) speak English at home as
12136-547: The U.S. are under Coles Hill, Virginia . Despite a challenge that reached the U.S. Supreme Court twice , the state has banned its mining since 1982 due to environmental and public health concerns. Virginia has a humid subtropical climate that transitions to humid continental west of the Blue Ridge Mountains . Seasonal extremes vary from average lows of 25 °F (−4 °C) in January to average highs of 86 °F (30 °C) in July. The Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Stream have
12284-472: The United States as of 2020 . El Salvador is the most common foreign country of birth, with India , Mexico , South Korea , the Philippines , and Vietnam as other common birthplaces. The state's most populous racial group, non-Hispanic whites , has declined as a proportion of the population from 76% in 1990 to 58.6% in 2020. Immigrants from Britain and Ireland settled throughout the Commonwealth during
12432-482: The United States. Virginia has a total area of 42,774.2 square miles (110,784.7 km ), including 3,180.13 square miles (8,236.5 km ) of water, making it the 35th- largest state by area. It is bordered by Maryland and Washington, D.C. to the northeast; by the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina to the south; by Tennessee to the southwest; by Kentucky to the west; and by West Virginia to
12580-548: The Virginia Company. Although it was a vital part of the colony's survival, tickets for the lottery were sold in England, since Virginia was wilderness at the time. Over the years, proceeds from lotteries helped establish early universities (including Virginia's College of William and Mary and University of Virginia ), churches, libraries and public works projects. Virginia voters approved a government-run lottery in 1987. Before
12728-519: The Virginia General Assembly proposed a new surveying commission in 1871. Representatives from Tennessee preferred to keep the less-straight 1803 line, and in 1893, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for them against Virginia . One result is how the city of Bristol is divided in two between the states. The Chesapeake Bay separates the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginia's Eastern Shore . The bay
12876-583: The Virginia Literary Fund, which is also used for educational purposes. As of 2024 more than $ 370 million in unclaimed prizes have been transferred to the Literary Fund. The largest win in the Virginia Lottery's history to date occurred on February 20, 2004, when retired truck driver J. R. Triplett of Winchester won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $ 239 million. Nine Mega Millions jackpots and two Powerball jackpot have been won in Virginia. The Lottery
13024-422: The actions are otherwise unrelated). The Act came into effect "following the last said day of December 1751". By 1750, adjustments needed to be made for an eleven-day difference between the older Julian calendar and the newer (and more accurate) Gregorian calendar. There was some religious dissent regarding feast days being moved, especially Christmas Day (see Old Christmas ), and isolated communities continued
13172-522: The alternative calendar attracts alternative celebrations of that new year: The major religions of the Middle East are Islam and Judaism : their adherents worldwide celebrate the first day of their respective new religious calendar years. The two primary sects of Islam are Sunni Islam and Shia Islam . They have different calendars though for both the epoch of the calendar is the Hijrah . According to
13320-619: The area held by the Seneca and their larger Iroquois Nation , and in 1748, a group of wealthy speculators, backed by the British monarchy, formed the Ohio Company to start English settlement and trade in the Ohio Country west of the Appalachian Mountains . France, which claimed this area as part of New France , viewed this as a threat, and in 1754 the French and Indian War engulfed England, France,
13468-699: The army and revolutionary militias. Virginia was the first colony to ratify the Articles of Confederation in December 1777. In April 1780, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of Governor Thomas Jefferson, who feared that Williamsburg's coastal location would make it vulnerable to British attack. British forces landed around Portsmouth in October 1780, and soldiers under Benedict Arnold raided Richmond in January 1781. The British army had over seven thousand soldiers and twenty-five warships stationed in Virginia at
13616-534: The bay as of 2024 . There are 34 native species of crayfish, like the Big Sandy . Amphibians found in Virginia include the Cumberland Plateau salamander and Eastern hellbender , while the northern watersnake is the most common of the 32 snake species. As of 2019 , roughly 16.2% of land in the Commonwealth is protected by federal, state, and local governments and non-profits. Federal lands account for
13764-553: The beginning of 1781, but General Charles Cornwallis and his superiors were indecisive, and maneuvers by the three thousand soldiers under the Marquis de Lafayette and twenty-nine allied French warships together managed to confine the British to a swampy area of the Virginia Peninsula in September. Around sixteen thousand soldiers under George Washington and Comte de Rochambeau quickly converged there and defeated Cornwallis in
13912-600: The birthday of the Emperor Augustus , 23 September. The indiction caused the Byzantine year, which used the Julian calendar, to begin on 1 September; this date is still used in the Eastern Orthodox Church for the beginning of the liturgical year. At various times and in various places throughout mediaeval Christian Europe , the new year was celebrated on 25 December in honour of the birth of Jesus ; 1 March in
14060-520: The colonial period, when roughly three-fourths of immigrants came as indentured servants . The Appalachian mountains and Shenandoah Valley have many settlements that were populated by German and Scotch-Irish immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries, often following the Great Wagon Road . Over ten percent of Virginians have German ancestry as of 2020 . The largest minority group in Virginia are Blacks and African Americans, about one-fifth of
14208-577: The colonial period. Only three other independent cities exist elsewhere in the US. The differences between counties and cities in Virginia are small and have to do with how each assess new taxes, whether a referendum is necessary to issue bonds, and with the application of Dillon's Rule , which limits the authority of cities and counties to countermand acts expressly allowed by the General Assembly . Counties can also have incorporated towns , and while there are no further administrative subdivisions ,
14356-499: The colony's start, residents agitated for greater local control, and in 1619, certain male colonists began electing representatives to an assembly, later called the House of Burgesses , that negotiated issues with the governing council appointed by the London Company. Unhappy with this arrangement, the monarchy revoked the company's charter and began directly naming governors and Council members in 1624. In 1635, colonists arrested
14504-490: The coming year. This day is traditionally a religious feast , but since the 1900s has also become an occasion to celebrate the night of 31 December—New Year's Eve—with parties, public celebrations (often involving fireworks shows) and other traditions focused on the impending arrival of midnight and the new year. Watchnight services are also still observed by many. The celebrations and activities held worldwide on 1 January as part of New Year's Day commonly include
14652-512: The concentration of independent cities in the Tidewater region is that several rural counties there re-incorporated as cities or consolidated with existing cities to try to hold on to their new suburban neighborhoods that started booming in the 1950s , since cities like Norfolk and Portsmouth were able to annex land from adjoining counties until a moratorium in 1987. Others, like Poquoson , became cities to try to preserve racial segregation during
14800-585: The date they are sold. Federal laws require the Lottery to withhold Federal Income Tax on all prizes (whether lump sum or annuity) over $ 5,000. Virginia Lottery sales are conducted by licensed retail businesses which receive a commission. Under state law, debit cards can be used to purchase Lottery tickets, but not credit cards. Players can also play several games online via the Virginia Lottery's website, www.valottery.com. Games offered online include Mega Millions, Powerball, Cash4Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, Cash 5 with EZ Match and several digital-only games. Within Virginia,
14948-409: The desegregation era of the 1970s. The 2020 census found the state resident population was 8,631,393, a 7.9% increase since the 2010 census . Another 23,149 Virginians live overseas, giving the state a total population of 8,654,542. Virginia has the fourth-largest overseas population of U.S. states due to its federal employees and military personnel. The fertility rate in Virginia as of 2020
15096-526: The eastern edge is the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, where over 1.7 million reside across six counties and nine cities, including the Commonwealth's three most populous independent cities: Virginia Beach , Chesapeake , and Norfolk . Neighboring Suffolk , which includes a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp , is the largest city by area at 429.1 square miles (1,111 km ). One reason for
15244-450: The eighth day of his life (1 January). The Roman Catholic Church celebrates on this day the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God , which is also a Holy Day of Obligation . Johann Sebastian Bach composed several church cantatas for the double occasion: (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to
15392-494: The end of slavery across the country. The seizure of Fort Sumter by Confederate forces on April 14, 1861, prompted Lincoln to call for a federal army of 75,000 men from state militias . The Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 voted on April 17 to secede on the condition it was approved in a referendum the next month. The convention voted to join the Confederacy, which named Richmond its capital on May 20. During
15540-403: The first of several invasions into Union territory. During the next three years of war, more battles were fought in Virginia than anywhere else, including the battles of Fredericksburg , Chancellorsville , Spotsylvania , and the concluding Battle of Appomattox Court House , where Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865. Virginia was formally restored to the United States in 1870, due to the work of
15688-421: The following: Music associated with New Year's Day comes in both classical and popular genres, and there is also Christmas song focus on the arrival of a new year during the Christmas and holiday season . A common image used, often as an editorial cartoon, is that of an incarnation of Father Time (or the "Old Year") wearing a sash across his chest with the previous year printed on it passing on his duties to
15836-483: The integrity of its games. The Lottery's headquarters is in downtown Richmond. Customer service centers are located in Abingdon, Farmville, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Henrico, Roanoke, and Woodbridge. Lotteries date back to the earliest days of Virginia. "The Great Virginia Lottery" was held long before Virginia became a state. It began in 1612 to help raise funds for the struggling Jamestown Settlement; it raised £ 29,000 for
15984-456: The jackpot. Jackpot amounts begin at $ 20 million and grow with each drawing in which the jackpot is not won. Top-prize Powerball winners can choose cash in lieu of annuity payments. The jackpot is pari-mutuel, meaning that if multiple tickets match all six numbers, each of them receives an equal share of the total jackpot. Drawings are held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. A basic Powerball ticket costs $ 2. The Power Play option adds $ 1 to
16132-452: The kalends of January start the new year aligned this dating. Still, private and religious celebrations around the March new year continued for some time and there is no consensus on the question of the timing for 1 January's new status. Once it became the new year, however, it became a time for family gatherings and celebrations. A series of disasters, notably including the failed rebellion of M. Aemilius Lepidus in 78 BC, established
16280-566: The land on Virginia's islands, which include Tangier Island in the bay and Chincoteague , one of 23 barrier islands on the Atlantic coast. The Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line . It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock -based foothills east of the mountains. The region, known for its heavy clay soil, includes
16428-516: The largest bloc in the House of Representatives . Together with the Virginia dynasty of presidents, this gave the Commonwealth national importance. Virginia is called the "Mother of States" because of its role in being carved into states such as Kentucky , and for the numbers of American pioneers born in Virginia. Between 1790 and 1860, the number of slaves in Virginia rose from around 290 thousand to over 490 thousand, roughly one-third of
16576-440: The late afternoon and evenings between April and September. These months are also the most common for tornadoes , eight of which touched down in the Commonwealth in 2023. Hurricanes and tropical storms can occur from August to October. The deadliest natural disaster in Virginia was Hurricane Camille , which killed over 150 people in 1969 mainly in inland Nelson County . Between December and March, cold-air damming caused by
16724-842: The majority, with thirty National Park Service units, such as Great Falls Park and the Appalachian Trail , and one national park, Shenandoah . Almost forty percent of Shenandoah's total 199,173 acres (806 km ) area has been designated as wilderness under the National Wilderness Preservation System . The U.S. Forest Service administers the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests , which cover more than 1.6 million acres (6,500 km ) within Virginia's mountains, and continue into West Virginia and Kentucky . The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge also extends into North Carolina, as does
16872-405: The mid-1990s, the first Bingo scratcher was introduced; each Bingo ticket cost $ 2. Eventually, higher-priced scratchers (including $ 3, $ 5, and $ 10) with larger prizes were introduced. Currently, the most expensive scratchers in common circulation are $ 30 each. All $ 30 currently in circulation and most $ 20 and $ 10 games offer a top prize of at least $ 1 million (annuitized). The highest prize offered in
17020-610: The middle of the 20th century, are the focus of conservation efforts in the state and a reintroduction program in Shenandoah National Park . Virginia has 226 species of freshwater fish from 25 families, a diversity attributable to the area's varied and humid climate, topography, interconnected river system, and lack of Pleistocene glaciers . Common examples on the Cumberland Plateau and higher-elevation regions include Eastern blacknose dace , sculpin , smallmouth bass , redhorse sucker , Kanawha darter , and brook trout ,
17168-404: The ninth through to the twelfth months of the Gregorian calendar , were originally positioned as the seventh through to the tenth months. ( Septem is Latin for "seven"; octo , "eight"; novem , "nine"; and decem , "ten") Roman mythology usually credits their second king Numa with the establishment of the two new months of Ianuarius and Februarius . These were first placed at the end of
17316-417: The normal ticket cost, an extra ball can provide additional winning combinations by substituting for any one of the other numbers. For example, a Pick 3 draw of 9-4-3 with a fireball of 0 allows for a wager to win a reduced prize with numbers of 0-4-3, 9-0-3, and 9-4-0 (or any arrangement thereof if Any Order is used). Virginia's Cash 5 with EZ Match game draws five numbers from 1 to 45. The minimum ticket cost
17464-465: The north and drifted an additional 3.5 miles by the border's westernmost point . After Tennessee joined the U.S. in 1796, new surveyors worked in 1802 and 1803 to reset their border with Virginia as a line from the summit of White Top Mountain to the top of Tri-State Peak in the Cumberland Mountains . However, deviations in that border were identified when it was re-marked in 1856, and
17612-459: The northwest. That Virginia's boundary with Maryland and Washington, D.C. only extends to the low-water mark of the south shore of the Potomac River has been an issue for water rights over the years. . Virginia's southern border was defined in 1665 as 36°30' north latitude . Surveyors marking the border with North Carolina in the 18th century however started about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to
17760-538: The old reckoning to a greater or lesser extent. The years 1800 and 1900 were leap years in the Julian calendar but not in the Gregorian, so the difference increased to twelve days, then thirteen. The year 2000 was a leap year in both calendars. At various stages during the first half of the twentieth century, all countries in Eastern Christendom adopted the Gregorian calendar as their civil calendar but continued, and have continued into modern times, to use
17908-424: The passing year, including on radio, television, and in newspapers, which starts in early December in countries around the world. Publications have year-end articles that review the changes during the previous year. In some cases, publications may set their entire year's work alight in the hope that the smoke emitted from the flame brings new life to the company. There are also articles on planned or expected changes in
18056-513: The population. Virginia was a major destination of the Atlantic slave trade . The Igbo ethnic group of what is now southern Nigeria were the largest African group among slaves in Virginia. Blacks in Virginia also have more European ancestry than those in other southern states, and DNA analysis shows many have asymmetrical male and female ancestry from before the Civil War, evidence of European fathers and African or Native American mothers. Though
18204-607: The pre-war debt. But in 1883, they were divided by a proposed repeal of anti-miscegenation laws , and days before that year's election, a riot in Danville , involving armed policemen, left four Black men and one white man dead. These events motivated a push by white supremacists to seize political power through voter suppression , and segregationists in the Democratic Party won the legislature that year and maintained control for decades. They passed Jim Crow laws that established
18352-508: The presence of Confederate monuments in Virginia have also led to large demonstrations, including in August 2017, when a white supremacist drove his car into protesters , killing one, and in June 2020, when protests that were part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement brought about the removal of Confederate statues . Virginia is located in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of
18500-485: The price of each ticket in a given playslip, so a Powerball ticket with Power Play costs $ 3 (up from $ 2). The odds of matching all six numbers to win the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 25. Two Powerball jackpots have been won in Virginia since the game first became available in the Commonwealth in 2010. From its inception, the Virginia Lottery has sold instant ( scratcher ) games. Originally, all scratch tickets were $ 1 each; in
18648-428: The prize, the less likely it is to appear, with the top prize appearing on only 1 in 1000 tickets for a given number (for an overall winning odds of 15,000-to-1). Tickets played apply to the next drawing(s), which occur five times a day (at 9AM, noon, 5PM, 9PM, and just before midnight). Wagers for a given ticket can be $ 1, $ 2, $ 5, or $ 10, with the prizes scaling proportionally to the wager and a maximum prize of $ 2,500 (on
18796-601: The proceeds went to Virginia's General Fund. Starting in 1999, a provision in Virginia's budget called for all proceeds to be assigned exclusively to education. In November 2000, Virginia voters approved the creation of the State Lottery Proceeds Fund by an 83.5-point margin. The measure, which is a permanent part of Virginia's Constitution, directs the General Assembly to use all Lottery profits for educational purposes. The Lottery does not control how its profits are spent. Under Virginia law, all unclaimed prizes go to
18944-469: The rest are mostly winter residents or transients . Water birds include sandpipers, wood ducks, and Virginia rail , while common inland examples include warblers, woodpeckers, and cardinals, the state bird . Birds of prey include osprey, broad-winged hawks , and barred owls . There are no endemic bird species. Audubon recognizes 21 Important Bird Areas in the state. Peregrine falcons , whose numbers dramatically declined due to DDT poisoning in
19092-513: The southwest and Mexico by the end of the period. Palisaded towns began to be built around 1200. The native population in the current boundaries of Virginia reached around 50,000 in the 1500s. Large groups in the area at that time included the Algonquian in the Tidewater region , which they referred to as Tsenacommacah , the Iroquoian -speaking Nottoway and Meherrin to the north and south, and
19240-648: The stake marking the geographic south pole is moved approximately 10 meters to compensate for the movement of the ice. A new marker stake is designed and made each year by staff at the site nearby. The Eastern Orthodox Church , the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on 1 January, based on the belief that if Jesus was born on 25 December, then according to Hebrew tradition, his circumcision would have taken place on
19388-476: The state government manages most local roads. It is also the only state where governors are prohibited from serving consecutive terms. Nomadic hunters are estimated to have arrived in Virginia around 17,000 years ago. Evidence from Daugherty's Cave shows it was regularly used as a rock shelter by 9,800 years ago. During the late Woodland period (500–1000 CE ), tribes coalesced, and farming, first of corn and squash, began, with beans and tobacco arriving from
19536-673: The state living in Northern Virginia . Northern Virginia also has a significant population of Vietnamese Americans , whose major wave of immigration followed the Vietnam War . Korean Americans have migrated there more recently, while about 45,000 Filipino Americans have settled in the Hampton Roads area. Tribal membership in Virginia is complicated by the legacy of the state's " pencil genocide " of intentionally categorizing Native Americans and Blacks together, and many tribal members do have African or European ancestry, or both. In 2020,
19684-582: The state population, and the number of slave owners rose to over 50 thousand. Both of these numbers represented the most in the U.S. The boom in Southern cotton production using cotton gins increased the amount of labor needed for harvesting raw cotton , but new federal laws prohibited the importation of slaves. Decades of monoculture tobacco farming had also degraded Virginia's agricultural productivity . Virginia plantations increasingly turned to exporting slaves , which broke up countless families and made
19832-532: The state than moving to it in 2021. This is largely credited to high home prices in Northern Virginia, which are driving residents there to relocate south; Raleigh is their top destination. Aside from Virginia, the top birth state for Virginians is New York , with the Northeast accounting for the largest number of domestic migrants into the state by region. About twelve percent of residents were born outside
19980-401: The ticket is printed (there is no drawing). Originally called Fast Play with a continually-changing lineup of games at $ 2, $ 3, and $ 5 prices, each with its own rules and prizes, when it became Print 'n Play the lineup was simplified to the three most popular games—Bingo, Blackjack, and Crossword—and a new $ 10 tier was added for Bingo and Crossword. A $ 20 tier has recently been added along with
20128-549: The top prize is "taxes paid" (the actual prize, $ 1,408,451, is before withholding , which is to be reported for tax purposes; the after withholding amount is $ 1,000,000.) Top prizes on $ 1 and 50-cent wagers are proportionally smaller. Virginia's New Year's Millionaire Raffle is offered by the Lottery each year with a drawing on New Year's Day . The drawing that was held on January 1, 2024, featured five $ 1 million top prizes, seven $ 100,000 prizes and 1,000 prizes of $ 500 each. A total of 625,000 tickets were available for sale. Keno
20276-432: The tribes, burned Jamestown. Bacon's Rebellion forced the signing of Bacon's Laws , which restored some of the colony's rights and sanctioned both attacks on native tribes and the enslavement of their people. The Treaty of 1677 further reduced the independence of the tribes that signed it, and aided the colony's assimilation of their land in the years that followed. Colonists in the 1700s were pushing westward into
20424-590: The usage of the General Roman Calendar of 1960 . The mainstream Roman Catholic Church celebrates on this day the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God . Among the 7th-century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands , it was the custom to exchange gifts at the winter solstice . This custom was deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemish and Dutch: "(Do not) make visuals, [little figures of
20572-413: The vote, supporters of a lottery suggested a number of possible ways in which lottery profits could be designated in Virginia, such as education, transportation and Chesapeake Bay cleanup. However, the referendum made no designation of how lottery profits would be spent. Sales began September 20, 1988. In 1989, the General Assembly directed Lottery proceeds to capital construction projects. From 1990 to 1998,
20720-483: The western and mountainous parts of the Commonwealth, oak and hickory are most common, while lower altitudes are more likely to have small but dense stands of hemlocks and mosses in abundance. Spongy moth infestations in oak trees and the blight in chestnut trees have decreased both of their numbers, leaving more room for hickory and the invasive tree of heaven . In the lowland tidewater and Piedmont , yellow pines tend to dominate, with bald cypress wetland forests in
20868-533: The year, but at some point came to be considered the first two months instead. The January kalend (Latin: Kalendae Ianuariae ), the start of the month of January, came to be celebrated as the new year at some point after it became the day for the inaugurating new consuls in 153 BC as a result of the rebellion in Hispania which began the second Celtiberian War . Romans had long dated their years by these consulships , rather than sequentially, and making
21016-475: Was 55.8 per 1,000 females between the ages of 15 and 44, and the median age as of 2021 was the same as the national average of 38.8 years old. The geographic center of population is located northwest of Richmond in Hanover County , as of 2020 . Though still growing naturally as births outnumber deaths, Virginia has had a negative net migration rate since 2013, with 8,995 more people leaving
21164-548: Was earned by retailers as sales commissions. The Lottery has a number of programs highlighting its connection to education in the Commonwealth. This includes the "Thank a Teacher" program, in which Virginians are encouraged to send specially-designed Thank-You cards to their favorite public school teachers statewide. The artwork on each card, both hard-copy and digital, is designed by three Virginia public school students: one elementary, one middle school and one high school. The Virginia Lottery gives top-prize winners of certain games
21312-506: Was formed from the drowned river valley of the ancient Susquehanna River . Many of Virginia's rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac , Rappahannock , York , and James , which create three peninsulas in the bay, traditionally referred to as "necks" named Northern Neck , Middle Peninsula , and the Virginia Peninsula from north to south. Sea level rise has eroded
21460-731: Was led by Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee , among others. Virginians began to coordinate their actions with other colonies in 1773 and sent delegates to the Continental Congress the following year. After the House of Burgesses was dissolved in 1774 by the royal governor , Virginia's revolutionary leaders continued to govern via the Virginia Conventions . On May 15, 1776, the Convention declared Virginia's independence and adopted George Mason 's Virginia Declaration of Rights , which
21608-486: Was lunisolar, and around the year 2000 BC began observing a spring festival and the new year during the month of Nisan , around the time of the March equinox . The early Roman calendar designated 1 March as the first day of the year. The calendar had just 10 months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through to December,
21756-690: Was responsible for building 38 warships for the U.S. Navy between 1907 and 1923. During World War I , German submarines attacked ships outside the port, which was a major site for transportation of soldiers and supplies. After the war, a homecoming parade to honor African-American troops was attacked in July 1919 by the city's police as part of a renewed white-supremacy movement, known as Red Summer . The shipyard continued building warships in World War II , and quadrupled its pre-war labor force to 70,000 by 1943. The Radford Arsenal outside Blacksburg also employed 22,000 workers making explosives, while
21904-651: Was then included in a new constitution that designated Virginia as a commonwealth . Another Virginian, Thomas Jefferson , drew upon Mason's work in drafting the national Declaration of Independence . After the American Revolutionary War began, George Washington was selected by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to head the Continental Army , and many Virginians joined
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