Flag Day 2022: Interesting Facts About The 'Stars And Stripes'

Flag Day is celebrated in the United States annually on June 14 to honor the Star-Spangled Banner that represents the country.

The day marks the official adoption of the Stars and Stripes by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. Former President Woodrow Wilson had proclaimed June 14 as the day to "rededicate ourselves to the nation."

The First Flag Act declared that the new flag would have "13 stripes alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Wilson wanted Americans to mark Flag Day to leave behind "every thought that is not worthy of our fathers' first vows in independence, liberty and right," and instead "stand with united hearts, for an America which no man can corrupt, no influence draw away from its ideals, no force divide against itself."

Here are some facts to share about the American flag, compiled from Britannica.

1. The version of the flag the U.S. used today is the 27th. The final star was for Hawaii, which was the 50th state added in 1960.

2. The first time the flag was flown after being adopted was on Aug. 3, 1777, in Rome, New York.

3. The colors of the flag signify purity, valor and justice. The white is for purity, the red is for valor and blue is for justice.

4. Some nicknames for the American flag are "old glory," "star-spangled banner," "red, white and blue" and "Stars and Stripes."

5. The current 50-star pattern was created by 17-year-old high school student Robert G. Heft in 1958 for a class project.

6. Neil Armstrong placed the first U.S. flag on the moon in July 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission.

7. The lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner," America's national anthem since 1931, were taken from a patriotic poem written by Francis Scott Key.

8. The flag is always flying at the White House, Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

9. The Pledge of Allegiance was penned in 1892, and it read, “I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

10. The idea of celebrating Flag Day in the U.S. was presented by a Wisconsin teacher, named Bernard Cigrand, in 1885.