June 14, 2010
It was Flag Day today and Brittany wondered why we had all the Flags out. So we had a teaching moment to explain why we have Flag Day. Do you know why we celebrate Flag Day? Take a moment and find out. . .
Flag Day Carries Real Meaning
— Put your flag out today. It’s Flag Day.
The idea of Flag Day originated with Fredonia, Wis., public school teacher BJ Cigrand in 1885. The teacher thought it important students recognized the official birthday of the flag. June 14 was the day The Stars and Stripes was officially adopted as the flag of the United States in 1777.
In 1891, Flag Day was celebrated at the flag maker Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, and the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution celebrated it the next year.
From there, the Flag Day movement grew. Flag Day was officially established in the United States by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. About 30 years later, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14 as Flag Day.
Today is steeped in history. Many who’ve trod on American soil have taken a moment to reflect on the purpose of the flag, its origins and just what it means.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane gave a Flag Day address in 1914, offering words he said the flag had spoken to him that day: “I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.”
So, on Flag Day, it’s our job to continue making and contributing to the American brand, a brand that stands for freedom and justice and fairness and generosity.
If we continue to promote those values as part of our daily lives, our daily schedule, we can feel a little more confident that our American brand will be a positive one for people around the world. And our flag will represent those values in a way written or spoken words cannot.
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