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Flag Day

Pause for the pledge 7PM EDT

When: June 14th
Where: U.S.A

The Week in which June 14th Occurs is National Flag Week The twenty-one days from Flag Day through Independence Day was declared by Congress as a period to honor America. In 2000, June 14th marks the 223rd birthday of the U.S. Flag.

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York.

Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th.

Later on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered. In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings.

Inspired by state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it It was not until 1949, that President Harry Truman signed legislation making Flag Day a day of national observance.



U.S. Flag Names

  • Stars and Stripes
  • Old Glory
  • Star-Spangled Banner

    • The U.S. Flag has thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, each stripe representing one of the 13 original colonies of England.

    The United States Flag has 50 stars, one for each state of the Union. The last star added was for the State of Hawaii, 1960.

    The U.S. National Anthem is titled 'Star-Spangled Banner'. The words were penned by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812 and set to the tune of an old English drinking song. Fort McHenry: Birthplace of our National Anthem

    Famed composer and long time U.S. Marine Corps Bandmaster John Philip Sousa wrote the stirring march, "Stars and Stripes Forever"





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