Flag Day is celebration of first national flag

ALBANY — Memorial Day and July 4th get all the hype, so it may be easy to forget the commemoration that falls in between.

Flag Day falls on June 14 each year, so Tuesday is the day for patriots to show their love for Old Glory.

Flag Day celebrates the day in 1777 when the Continental Congress established the first flag for the 13 colonies in a resolution that stated that “the flag of the United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white (and) the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

President Woodrow Wilson issued a decree in 1916 establishing Flag Day.

A recent survey of middle and high school students by the digital homework help platform Brainly showed that today’s students could stand to learn a bit more about the flag.

According to the survey:

♦ 53.2% of middle and high school students do not currently discuss Flag Day in their schools, while more than 35% were interested in learning more about the holiday;

♦ More than 30% of respondents were unable to identify that there are 50 stars on the current American Flag (representing the 50 states);

♦ Only 45% of students identified the original American flag design contained 13 stars to represent the 13 colonies;

♦ 16% of all respondents correctly marked that the red, white, and blue colors signified valor, purity, and justice while more than 59% (incorrectly) claimed it represented freedom, equality, and justice for all.

File Photo: Carlton Fletcher