A Year of Blogging: June 14, 2011

In the US, June 14 is Flag Day. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution adopting the American flag. June 14 is also celebrated as the birthday of the US Army. It's a very patriotic day! Flag Day has always been a day I enjoyed. We used to have a celebration in elementary school. Yes, we were still in school on June 14. It was a sign that the school year was almost over. It was a pleasant sign, unlike field day- a day where you had to do a lot of outdoor athletic activities. I always hated that day. But Flag Day was wonderful. We had a ceremony in front of the school. Usually a few of the Cub Scouts would lead the ceremony. They would unfold the flag and hoist it onto the pole in the school yard. We learned about the meaning of the different parts of the flag. The 50 stars represented the 50 states. 13 stripes, one for each of the thirteen colonies. Sometimes we saw pictures of older versions of the flag. I am pretty sure we stood in the driveway of the school, grades K-5 first reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and then singing 'The Star Spangled Banner'. If it was raining, the ceremony was held in the gym. It was an energetic precursor to the Fourth of July. The largest Flag Day parade is held each year in Troy, NY. Troy is the county seat of Rensselaer County (where I grew up). Troy sits across the Hudson River from Albany. The Troy Flag Day parade draws approximately 50,000 people each year. It's no wonder I remember Flag Day as being a big deal. Our newspapers came from Troy and Albany, and the TV Stations were in Albany, so we had a lot of coverage of the Flag Day parade. Yet I've never been to it. One year I'll have to make sure to go! I wonder, if I weren't American, if I would still love the red, white, and blue color scheme. To me, nothing says summer more than red, white, and blue. Of course, I'm a bicentennial baby (as is every other person who celebrates their 35 birthday this year), so maybe it's in my blood! Show your pride today and display your flag!