Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Flag Day

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 and celebrates the history of the American Flag.

Here are some interesting facts about the American Flag.

  • The celebration of the flag was invented by a teacher. In 1885, a 19-year-old teacher named Bernard J. CiGrand asked his class to write an essay on the symbolism of our flag. He spent the following half-century trying to make Flag Day a national holiday.
  • The original flag had 13 stars and 13 stripes.
  • Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag.
  • There have been 27 versions of the American Flag.
  • Red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence and blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
  • The designer of the American flag was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey.
  • The current flag was designed by a teenager. In 1958, then-17-year-old Robert G. Heft of Lancaster, Ohio submitted the design in a contest. President Dwight Eisenhower chose Robert's design from over 1,500 other submissions.
  • The current flag is the only one to have lasted more than 50 years.
  • Flag Day was established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916.
  • The final star, for Hawaii, was added in 1960.
  • The flag is normally flown from sunrise to sunset.
  • The flag should not be flown at night without a light on it.
  • The first time the flag was flown after being adopted was on Aug. 3, 1777, in Rome, New York.
  • There are six American flags on the moon. Five are standing, but Neil Armstrong's fell over.
  • The flag should not be flown in the rain or inclement weather.
  • After a tragedy or death, the flag is flown at half staff for 30 days. It's called "half staff" on land, and "half-mast" on a ship.
  • When your flag is old and has seen better days, it is time to retire it. Old flags should be burned or buried.
  • If you like to study flags, then you are a Vexillologist!
  • An American flag should never touch the floor or the ground.
  • When displayed on a wall or window the blue field should be in the upper left corner.
  • The military folds the flag with 13 folds, each with symbolic meaning.
  • 50 flags fly 24 hours a day around the Washington monument.
  • 95% of U.S. flags are made in the U.S.A.
  • The U.S. flag always flies at the top of a staff above any other flag.
Photo by Cristina Glebova on Unsplash

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