Today is Flag Day in America. We’ll celebrate the day with a little history of our national symbol.
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 his Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School to observe June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’.
June 14th was selected because that is the anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as our national flag.
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’.
Flag Day was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916.
Then on August 3rd, 1949, President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.
Our flag has 13 stripes representing the 13 original colonies. 50 stars for the 50 states in the union. Red represents valor, blue signifies justice, and white represents purity and innocence.
If you’re in Nevada, you can see the largest US flag ever made draped over Hoover Dam. Each star is 17 feet high and it takes a crew of 15 to unfurl it.