Flag day in the USA - the celebration of unity and independence of the country

6/14/2018

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Culture Story: Flag day in the USA - the celebration of unity and independence of the country

US Flag Day is one of the distinctive official holidays celebrated in the USA. This day and during the whole week of June 14th, the nation honors the American Flag, not only the official symbol of the country, but a world-famed sign. Today we want to share the most important and even little-known facts about the sign that plays a big part in the lives of the Americans.

There are so many holidays! Some of them we celebrate, some we miss, we don't even know about the others. But The US Flag Day undoubtedly deserves our attention. The USA honors its world-famous symbol on the 14th of June. The week of the Flag Day is called National Flag Week. During this week, people decorate their houses and main buildings with national flags. Thus they show their patriotism and appreciation of the past. Although this day is official and well-known across the country, it's not a holiday in most states of the USA. Nevertheless, different ceremonies and parades are held throughout the country in honor of this day. Do you also find the idea of celebrating this day awesome? It really helps to keep the traditions of the ancestors, feel national unity and of course be proud of the country.

Adoption of the new Flag

On June 14, 1777, the Grand Union flag that was the official flag of the USA was replaced by the new one. The new flag had a circle of 13 white stars on the blue background (they symbolize 13 states) and 13 stripes of red and white colors (the former British colonies). These colors weren't chosen by chance: red represents valor and endurance, white – purity and innocence, and blue - fairness and diligence.

Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross is considered to be the seamstress who made the new flag. Although this information is questionable, her name is written in the history of the US. Over the years, the flag has changed, and new stars were added to the canvas as the new states entered the Union.

Flag day

The tradition of celebrating the Flag Day appeared in 1885. As the story tells, a school teacher from Wisconsin Bernard Cigrand organized an event to celebrate the day when the flag was adopted. In 1889 George Balch, also a teacher from NYC, held such a ceremony for the children of his school. Soon such classroom celebrations of The Flag Day became common in a lot of school all around the USA. Later in 1916, the proclamation that stated that The Flag Day should be observed in the country was signed by President Woodrow Wilson. However, the day was designated as an official holiday only in 1949 by Harry S. Truman. Since that time people organize concerts, take part in parades, raise flags and just honor the national symbol in a special way every year. Undoubtedly, that makes them feel as a part of the great culture they are so proud of.

Watch this video to learn more about The Flag Day

That is how people celebrated this holiday in 2017

Do you celebrate this holiday? What do you think about it? We are waiting for your response in the comments below.

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What are your thoughts on this subject?

9 Comments

Keith Scholl

This has been brought to you by Sheldon Cooper.

Doug Nicholson

When the flag was originally adopted, as the video stated, it had 13 stripes and 13 stars in a circle. The law at first stated that a new stripe and a new star were to be added to represent each new state as it entered the Union. This, however, quickly became impractical, and the law was altered to keep the stripes numbering 13, to honor the original 13 colonies, with one star added for every new state as they were added.