Sanders Closes State Offices on Friday, December 26 in Celebration of Christmas

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME - GREETINGS:

WHEREAS: More than two millennia ago in the little town of Bethlehem, far from the centers of power in first-century Rome, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in a humble manger;

WHEREAS: Jesus was the Messiah and became a teacher and leader, and He would be crucified, suffer for the sins of all mankind, die and be buried, and rise again on the third day to sit at the right hand of the Father;

WHEREAS: But on that first Christmas, Christ's arrival was unassuming, witnessed only by Mary and Joseph, humble shepherds guided by angels, and three wise men from the East. It presaged his ministry, which was not focused on the wealthy or powerful but rather on the poor, powerless, and meek; and

WHEREAS: We give thanks for the arrival of Christ the Savior, who will come again in glory and whose kingdom will have no end, by celebrating His birth each year on Christmas Day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim December 25, 2025, as

"CHRISTMAS DAY"

in the State of Arkansas, and in order that state employees may spend this holiday with their families giving thanks for Christ's birth, I further declare the State Capitol and state offices will be closed on Friday, December 26, 2025, as well.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 16th day of December, in the year of our Lord 2025.

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