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Flag Day history and etiquette for June 14.
Quick: What two national observances occur on the same weekend this month? If you guessed Father’s Day, you got half of it. If you also said Flag Day, you deserve a blue ribbon.
So what, you may ask, is so unusual about these two events happening on the same weekend? It’s because the criteria for their observance are so different, in that Flag Day is always June 14 and Father’s Day is always the third Sunday, which this year happens to be June 15. The next time we will see them on the same weekend will be in 2014 and not until 2022 after that.
What a grand occasion to celebrate with these two days, first to honor the flag and all that it means to this great country’s heritage; then to honor the parent for whom so many of us have to be proud and thankful. As we enjoy the time with friends and family, let’s remember how each of these days originated.
The Stars & Stripes was adopted as the official flag of the United States of America by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. White signifies purity and innocence; red, hardiness and valor; blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.
The first celebration of Flag Day began on the flag’s hundredth anniversary in 1877, and in 1885 a Wisconsin school teacher, B. J. Cigrand, encouraged his pupils to observe the flag’s 108th birthday. Over succeeding years, the day was celebrated by a series of state and local events, and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson officially established Flag Day by proclamation. Following World War II, Flag Day became a national observance by Act of Congress in 1949 was signed into law by President Harry Truman.
A joint resolution of Congress in 1966 requested each President to issue an annual proclamation that calls for the national week-long observance and for displaying the flag by all citizens of the United States during the calendar week in which June 14 falls.
When displaying the flag, there are some important and specific do’s and don’ts:
- Fly the flag only from sunrise to sunset, unless it is lighted at night.
- The flag should never be flown in rain or inclement weather.
- When flown on a vertical pole, the union (blue field of stars) is at the top and any state or other flags are flown below it.
- When displayed in print, the union should always appear on the left.
- The flag should also never be allowed to touch the ground.
After displaying the flag on Saturday the 14th, you can put it back up on Sunday the 15th in the national observance of a happy Father’s Day. And, as it was with Flag Day, an individual led the way. A woman in Spokane, Washington, Sonora Smart Dodd, conceived the idea while listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day in 1909.
Ms. Dodd was raised by her father, whom she revered as “a courageous, selfless, and loving man.” She held her first celebration in June of 1910. A National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City in 1926 and Father’s Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.
As you read the profiles of the Lowcountry fathers featured in this month’s special Father’s Day section, let’s all remember and honor those who have guided us through our childhood and beyond. Enjoy this weekend to remember!
Palmetto State
The story behind South Carolina’s flag. According to information found at 50states.com... In 1775, the Revolutionary Council of Safety asked Col. William Moultrie to design a flag to be used by South Carolina troops.
When determining the flag’s colors, he reportedly chose a blue which matched the color of the troops’ uniforms and a crescent which represented the silver emblem worn on the front of their caps.
The palmetto tree was reportedly later added to signify Moultrie’s heroic defense of the palmetto- log fort, on Sullivan’s Island, against the attack of the British fleet on June 28, 1776.
