Monday, November 23, 2015

Towns named Lebanon in the US

"In 1955, the government of Lebanon decided to extend the hand of friendship to its namesakes and invited the mayors of all the U.S. cities named Lebanon to visit Beirut.

There, the American mayors were presented with cedar trees to bring back home. Today, these trees still stand in the town squares of these towns in America called Lebanon.

Most of the “Lebanons” are apparently named for the biblical reference of the cedars of Lebanon, particularly if they are located near a cedar forest. The verse, from the Old Testament, Ezra 3:7, says, “So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sido’nians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon.”" (thanks Brooke)