What is Flag Day, what does it celebrate? Meaning and origins explained
June 14 will be chock-full of patriotic celebrations, not only because it is the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, but also due to Saturday being Flag Day.
The holiday, like the name suggests, commemorates the date the United States approved the design for its national flag, an enduring symbol of freedom. However, it would take more than a century from when the flag resolution was adopted for the day to be formally observed by communities across the country.
Flag Day was first celebrated in the late 1800s by educators around the U.S., according to the National Constitution Center, and in May 1916, President Woodrow Wilson declared that June 14 would be forever known as the day of the flag.
Flag Day became a national holiday some thirty years after Wilson left office, which was when President Harry Truman signed congressional legislation into law. Truman also directed, in a proclamation, that the U.S. flag be displayed on all government buildings on that day.
America has honored the adoption of both stars and stripes in several ways since, from displaying the pennant outside of homes and federal buildings to incorporating it in patriotic parades or processions. The country's armed forces have also incorporated the well-recognized insignia on uniforms and in ceremonies.
Here's what to know about Flag Day, including flag designs of decades past and how it is celebrated.
What does Flag Day celebrate?
According to the Library of Congress, Flag Day commemorates the date the Continental Congress approved the design of a national flag.
The Smithsonian reports that the flag resolution reads: "Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation."
When is Flag Day? And how is it celebrated?
Americans celebrate Flag Day, which falls on Saturday, June 14, in many ways, including parades, ceremonies and educational events designed to encourage respect for the flag and its significance.
See American flag designs throughout history
The current U.S. flag design, which consists of 50 stars and 13 stripes, will celebrate its 65th birthday on July 4, the same day the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence.
This version of the American flag, most of us know, was officially adopted the year after Hawaii became the 50th state of the union.
Contributing: Janet Loehrke, Paste BN