Photo by jnn1776 via Flickr, Edited by TSSi
Flag Day is believed to have first originated in a Wisconsin Public School in 1885. "BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'." Over the next several years, "Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'."
Others began to observe this day with celebrations and appropriate ceremonies with school children honoring the American Flag. Soon this celebration became far more than ceremonies for children. Adults began to participate in patriotic programs.
"Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: 'I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself.'"
100 years ago, "Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day."
Please join TSSi is celebrating National Flag Day!
