Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Today Is Flag Day ~ Fly Your Flag!


Prior to Flag Day, June 14, 1923, neither the federal government nor the states had official guidelines governing the display of the United States’ flag. However on June 14, 1923, the National Flag Code was constructed by representatives of over 68 organizations.
The American flag consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton (referred to specifically as the “union”) bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the Union.

American Flag Hanging On Wall

You can hang the flag vertically or horizontally, although the Union should always be in the upper left corner as you look at it.

American Flag Display Podium

When displaying the American flag near a podium, it should always be to the right of the speaker. Any other flags on display should be placed to the left.
Display US Flag With Flags Of Other Nations

Here is where it gets a little more interesting, as international law forbids one flag above another nation’s flag when grouped together.

Here is where it gets a little more interesting, as international law forbids one flag above another nation’s flag when grouped together.  You must display the US flag with flags of other nations on separate staffs of the same height and display the US flag with flags of other nations of the same size.

How To Fly American Flag With State Flags
The American flag must be at the center, and at the highest point of a group of state flags.
The order of precedence for flags generally is National flags (US first, then others in alphabetical order in English), State (host state first, then others in the order of admission) and territories (Washington DC, Puerto Rico, etc.), Military (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard), then other.

How To Suspend American Flag Across Street
The flag suspended across a street must hang vertically. It should be suspended vertically with the union to the north in an east and west street or to the east in a north and south street.

It is not just any old red, white and blue, it is American flag Dark Red (Pantone 193 C), White (Pantone safe), and Navy Blue (281 C).

3 comments:

  1. Wow! I had no idea there were so many regulations to the flag. But I do see these rules used.

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  2. Lovely post! A nice reminder of how much respect our country's flag commands.

    I will also note that today is my younger sister's birthday, so we always like to bug her and give her American flag themed cards. lol It's pretty brutal of us but fun.

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  3. didn't realize it was flag day today...

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