I was a little surprised the other day when I asked a group about fast-approaching “Flag Day” but no one raised a hand.

I learned about this date in history class back in elementary or junior high and for some reason the date stuck in my mind.  Apparently it didn’t so much for others, putting it in the Columbus Day category for most.  Anyhow, Friday, June 14, was Flag Day in the United States so we put out our driveway flags for the occasion.

You’ll find on the internet that “Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.  They even described the significance of the stars, the stripes and the color selection.  It is not an official federal holiday, just a day recognized.   

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation that designated June 14 as Flag Day.  Then on August 3, 1949, National Flag Day was officially established by an Act of Congress, still not an official federal holiday.  Pennsylvania became the first state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, with New York following suit, almost…theirs is designated as the second Sunday in June.  (That’s also according to the internet).

Winn Parish Journal