The state capital, Montgomery, became the provisional capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861 and is popularly known as the Cradle of the Confederacy.
	Alabama received its name from the Alabama River, which in turn was named after a Native American tribe who inhabited the region at the time the first Europeans arrived. The name is believed to be a combination of two Chocta words roughly meaning vegetation (alba) and gatherer (amo) which were applied to the Alabama, or Alibamon, people.
	While the state proudly displays its 'Heart of Dixie' nickname on vehicle license plates, Alabama is also known as the Yellowhammer State. This nickname dates from the American Civil War (1861-1865), when a company of Alabama soldiers decked their uniforms with yellow trimmings that resembled the wing patches of the yellowhammer.
	Alabama was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday