If you’re like me, you woke up this morning to a pop-up on your calendar saying that tomorrow, June 14th, is Flag Day. You probably know about Flag Day as much as I know about JoJo Siwa. I’ve heard her name, I know she’s involved with music, but I’ve never looked into it further because I assumed she was doing it for other people. But if you’re curious about Flag Day, read on to find out where it came from, who celebrates it, why it exists, and what it means.
What exactly is Flag Day?
Celebrated annually on June 14, Flag Day marks the anniversary of the design of the American flag established by an Act of the Continental Congress in 1777. The Act contains the inspiring words that every elementary school student knows by heart: “Resolved: That the flags of the thirteen States shall have thirteen stripes, alternating red and white; and that the flag of the Confederate States shall be thirteen white stars on a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
Woodrow Wilson first declared June 14th to be Flag Day in 1916, and Harry Truman signed it into law in 1949. But one day wasn’t patriotic enough, so in 1966 Congress declared Flag Day to be the middle of Flag Week. Look, fellow Communists!
Can I take the day off on Flag Day?
There is no day off for Flag Day (don’t even think about Flag Week). Respecting the design of the flag is important to all Americans, but it’s not important enough to be an official holiday. So the mail gets delivered, federal offices and banks are open, and there is no 3-day weekend. I think we can all agree that this is a rip-off.
Where did Flag Day come from?
In 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand, an 18-year-old teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, assigned his students to write an essay about what the American flag meant to them. Cigrand soon left teaching and Wisconsin to become a dentist, but he never forgot his patriotic chore and spent years lobbying the U.S. government to make this a national holiday.
In his 1917 Flag Day address, President Wilson linked the holiday to the need to send American troops to Europe to fight in World War I. This was the first time American troops had fought overseas, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought the real reason Flag Day existed was not because of a patriotic Wisconsin teacher’s essay assignment, but because of a campaign to sway public opinion in support of America’s involvement in World War I.
How do people celebrate Flag Day?
According to military.com, “Flag Day is celebrated with parades, essay contests, ceremonies and picnics organized by veterans organizations, schools, and organizations such as the Flag Day Foundation.” I find this skeptical. Although I love ceremonies and essay contests, I have never participated in a Flag Day celebration, nor have any of my thousands of friends, coworkers and well-wishers.
Waubeka, Wisconsin, is celebrating Flag Day this year with a parade, fireworks and a musical performance by Eric Barbieri and the Rockin’ Krakens.
Who designed the American flag?
We celebrate our flag on Flag Day, but we don’t celebrate the graphic designer who came up with it. The Continental Congress’ proclamation, “This is our flag,” didn’t go into much detail about how to arrange the alternating red and white stripes and stars. I mean, technically they could have been placed anywhere, but who came up with the design we all know and accept? We don’t know for sure who that was.
It almost certainly wasn’t Betsy Ross. She did sew flags during the American Revolutionary War, but the story that President Washington gave Ross a rough sketch that Ross then worked on to create the flag has no evidence beyond a Ross family tale, so historians say no.
The most prominent flag designer is Francis Hopkinson, a founding father, poet, playwright, musician, and design genius who designed the Great Seal of the United States (and even the Ramones logo), among other iconic works of American culture.
Hopkinson wrote to the Admiralty in 1780, requesting payment for his work on the design of the American flag. He asked for “a quarter cask of the nation’s wine” but was refused, partly because the Admiralty stated that other unnamed people had also worked on the flag, and partly because the country was bankrupt.
Isn’t the 4th of July a day to celebrate the flag? Isn’t enough enough already?
The 4th of July is a celebration of our independence and how great our country is. Flag Day is a celebration of a symbol of our greatness. Don’t worry if you get confused; we’re a free country, so you won’t get thrown in jail for it — yet.
