{"id":3530,"date":"2021-12-01T09:51:28","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/?p=3530"},"modified":"2021-12-02T09:24:33","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T14:24:33","slug":"sunshine-state-specialties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/01\/sunshine-state-specialties\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunshine State Specialties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ava DePersio<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

  Florida has several specialties that represent the Sunshine State, and its well-known history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   Florida is nicknamed the Sunshine State because of the amount of sunshine the state receives, but that is not the first name it has had. \u201c[Florida\u2019s original Spanish name] is La Florida\u2026Ponce De Le\u00f3n [named it that] because of  his discovery [of it] during the Easter feast,\u201d according to \u2018History.com.\u2019 The name La Florida also signifies the abundance of flowers that grow throughout the state. There are several flowers that grow in the state, but the Florida state flower is the orange blossom. The orange blossom is, \u201c…one of the most fragrant flowers in Florida\u2026 [and] was selected as the state flower by the 1909 legislature,\u201d according to the \u2018Florida Department of State.\u2019 The flowers that grow and the constant sun that Florida receives is so well-known that it was referenced in the state anthem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   A state anthem should represent what is unique to the state, and in Florida’s anthem, it references the sunshine and the incredible flowers that bloom. The anthem is called \u201cFlorida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky\u201d and it states, \u201c…Florida, land of flowers, land of light.\u201d The anthem \u201cFlorida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky\u201d was written by Jan Hinton, and became the state anthem in 2008, but it was not the first song Florida had. The first state song was called, \u201cFlorida, My Florida\u201d written by Reverend Chastain V. Waugh, and was deemed the state song in 1913, until 1935, when it was replaced with the new song \u201cSwanee River (Old Folks Home)\u201d written by Stephen C. Foster. It is spelled \u201cSwanee\u201d instead of the proper spelling for the Suwannee River because, \u201c\u2026 changing the name of the Suwannee River in Florida to \u201c\u2018Swanee\u2019\u201d \u2026 fit the syntax of the melody [for the song],\u201d according to \u2018Music K8.\u2019 The state anthem was created to replace the state song, \u201cThe Swanee River (Old Folks at Home),\u201d but it was later decided to, \u201c…[keep] the state song and designate \u201cFlorida, Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky\u201d as the\u2026 state anthem,\u201d according to the \u2018Florida Department of State.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   There are also several animals that are well-known in Florida. The northern mockingbird is the official state bird for Florida, and was declared the state bird in 1927. Northern mockingbirds are known for their vocal abilities, and can mimic sounds they hear around their environment. Throughout the night, their voice can be heard as they sing one of the hundreds of \u2018songs\u2019 they know. Florida even has an official state reptile. The American alligator was named the official state reptile in 1987. \u201cAlligators are found throughout Florida\u2026 they prefer lakes, swamps, canals, and other wetland habitats,\u201d according to \u2018West Palm Beach Parks.com.\u2019 Since wetlands are prominent in Florida, alligators have several places to reside in. According to \u2018United States Geological Survey (USGS.gov),\u2019 \u201cWetlands represent a greater percentage of the land surface in Florida than in any other state in the conterminous United States.\u201d The abundance of wetlands allows for alligators to thrive in the state, and can explain why they are common to see in Florida. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

   The official state motto for Florida is, \u201cIn God We Trust.\u201d This may sound familiar as it is also the United States official motto. \u201c[The motto] was adopted by the Florida legislature as a part of the state seal in 1868,\u201d according to the \u2018Florida Department of State.\u2019 The first state motto was originally \u201cIn God is our trust,\u201d but in 2006 the Florida state motto was changed to say \u201cIn God We Trust,\u201d to match the state seal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No state is complete without a signature dessert, and Florida’s state dessert is key lime pie. It was invented in Key West, and\u00a0became the state dessert in 2006. \u201c.. key lime trees [are] native to Malaysia, [and] first arrived in the Florida Keys in the 1500s with the Spanish,\u201d according to \u2018What\u2019s Cooking America.\u2019 Along with a state dessert, Florida also has a state beverage. Orange juice has been a popular drink in Florida and became the state drink in 1967. Orange juice gained popularity outside of Florida when it was used as a beverage and a source of Vitamin C for World War II troops.\u00a0 According to \u2018Time.com,\u2019 \u201c…troops [needed to be] well fed with Vitamin C… [and] in 1945… the army asked [Richard Stetson Mores, inventor of the orange juice concentrate] to produce 500,000 of…orange juice concentrate [for the troops].\u201d The state of Florida has produced several nationwide staples and also has unique specialties that represent Florida since it first became a state in 1845<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Florida’s State Bird the Northern Mockingbird<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Florida’s State Flower the Orange Blossom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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By Ava DePersio   Florida has several specialties that represent the Sunshine State, and its well-known history.    Florida is nicknamed the Sunshine State because of the amount of sunshine the state receives, but that is not the first name it has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[127,131,129,130,128],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Florida-story-Aligator-.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3530"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3530"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3574,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3530\/revisions\/3574"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}