What is “Juneteenth” All About and Why is it a “Portmanteau”?

A "portmanteau" is a word that's formed from the combination of two separate words...for example... SMOKE & FOG = SMOG!  How is that relative to Juneteenth?  JUNE & NINETEENTH = JUNETEENTH! June 19, 1865 marked the day that the state of Texas finally recognized the freeing of slaves.  Texas was the last state in the Union to recognize The Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves and was signed three years earlier by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862.  

Juneteenth is not a festivity exclusive to Buffalo, NY....which many people think.... Juneteenth is a NATIONWIDE HOLIDAY celebrating the eventual freeing of all slaves in the United States based on the state of Texas agreeing to get on board with the Emancipation Proclamation... The State of Texas announced the abolition Slavery on JUNE 19, 1865... three years after the original Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln.

Evert state doesn't celebrate FREEDOM DAY / EMANCIPATION DAY which we know as "JUNETEENTH"...according to Wikipedia, 41 States recognize the day as a State Holiday.  The 41 states are as follows:

District of Columbia (Washington, DC), Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Juneteenth is the oldest Nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of Slavery in the United States and is celebrated in Buffalo, NY in Martin Luther King Park this year.  Enjoy the celebration and most importantly, "KNOW THYSELF" and know what your celebrating!