June 14th is Flag Day in the United States. Flag day was established in 1777 to commemorate the adoption of the U.S. flag and was officially declared a holiday in 1949.
The design of the U.S. flag has officially changed 26 times since then, and has been 13 stripes and 50 stars since Hawaii entered the Union in 1959. On Flag Day, the flag is to be displayed at full staff. It may be flown at night, but should be illuminated. It should not be flown in bad weather and if there is any wear, it should be repaired or replaced and destroyed in an honorable way, such as by burning.
Here are some fun facts about our flag:
- The colors are known as “White,” “Old Glory Red,” and “Old Glory Blue.”
- The colors cannot be exactly reproduced for electronic display.
- The flag should not be displayed on anything that is disposable.
- The current flag design was created by a high school student who originally got a grade of B- on his project, but he made a deal with his teacher that it would be changed to an A if his design was selected by Congress. He got his A.
