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What is Flag Day

Flag Day, also called National Flag Day, in the United States, a day honoring the national flag, observed on June 14. The holiday commemorates the date in 1777 when the United States approved the design for its first national flag.

The idea to set aside a day to honor the national flag came from several sources. Bernard J. Cigrand, a Wisconsin school teacher, in 1885 urged his students to observe June 14 as “Flag Birthday.” He later wrote an essay published in a Chicago newspaper that urged Americans to proclaim this date as the day to celebrate the flag. In 1888 William T. Kerr of Pennsylvania founded the American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania, an organization to which he dedicated his life. A lesser-known claim is that of George Morris of Connecticut, who is said to have organized the first formal celebration of the day in Hartford in 1861.

In 1916 Pres. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as the official date for Flag Day, and in 1949 the U.S. Congress permanently established the date as National Flag Day. Although Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, Pennsylvania celebrates the day as a state holiday. Each year the U.S. president delivers an address that proclaims the week of June 14 as National Flag Week, and all Americans are encouraged to fly U.S. flags during that week.

Why do we burn American Flags that are unserviceable

The United States Code stipulates that “when a flag has served its useful purpose, it should be destroyed with dignity, preferably in a ceremony by burning.” Many American Legion posts conduct Disposal of Unserviceable Flag Ceremonies on June 14, Flag Day, each year. This ceremony creates a particularly dignified and solemn occasion for the disposal of unserviceable flags with utmost respect and honor.