Explaining 'Flag Day' in the U.S.

Never miss a McClatchy story Register Log in logout member center Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Add us to your iPhone or G1 By Don Worthington | Rock Hill Herald YORK COUNTY -- Today is Flag Day, one of 20 days Congress says the American flag should be flown. The celebration traces its birth to the Second Continental Congress, which, on June 14, 1777, passed a resolution that the flag of these United States "be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white" and "the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Various states celebrated a Flag Day, but it wasn't until 1916 that President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed a national Flag Day. And it wasn't until 1949 that President Harry Truman set aside June 14 as the Flag Day. Continue reading