In case you see more flags than usual waving proudly on Thursday, June 14...it is National Flag Day.
So from WFMY News 2 Happy Flag Day, wave it correctly and proudly!
Do you know the history of this American Day? According to Today in History: The day has been celebrated since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14.
Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by celebrating June 14 as Flag Day. Prior to 1916, many communities and a few states had been celebrating the day for years. Congressional legislation designating that date as the national Flag Day was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949. And, the legislation states that the president has to issue a flag day proclamation every year.
Where did the celebrations begin? Many historians believed the first one originated in 1885 when 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'.
The first flag: Allegedly in 1776, George Washington commissioned Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross to create a flag for the new nation. Scholars debate this legend, but agree that Mrs. Ross most likely knew Washington and sewed flags. To date, there have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag, but the arrangement of the stars varied according to the flag-makers' preferences until 1912 when President Taft standardized the then-new flag's forty-eight stars into six rows of eight. The forty-nine-star flag (1959-60), as well as the fifty-star flag, also have standardized star patterns. The current version of the flag dates to July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the fiftieth state on August 21, 1959.
How do you properly display our flag?
Here are the basics on displaying the American flag (From Hoilday Insights):
The flag is normally flown from sunrise to sunset.
In the morning, raise the flag briskly. At sunset, lower it slowly. Always, raise and lower it ceremoniously.
The flag should not be flown at night without a light on it.
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 flown vertically on a pole, the stars and blue field , or "union", is at the top and at the end of the pole (away from your house).
The American flag is always flown at the top of the pole. Your state flag and other flags fly below it.
The union is always on top. When displayed in print, the stars and blue field are always on the left.
Never let your flag touch the ground, never...period.
Fold your flag when storing. Don't just stuff it in a drawer or box.
When your flag is old and has seen better days, it is time to retire it. Old flags should be burned or buried.
And last, please do not throw a flag in the trash.
Click here to read more history on the American Flag and Flag Day.
US Library of Congress