By Kaitlyn Tracy
This Saturday, streets and buildings across the country will be adorned with red, white and blue in celebration of Flag Day.
There is skepticism as to when the first Flag Day was celebrated. The United States flag was first adopted by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. Some say the first Flag Day celebration was in 1877 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the flag, others say it was in 1885 by a school teacher promoting patriotism in his Massachusetts classroom. The holiday became official in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that established June 14 as Flag Day.
Many towns and cities across the country host celebrations including Fairfield, Washington, which has had an annual Flag Day parade since 1909 and Troy, New York, which claims to have the largest Flag Day parade, drawing in an average of fifty thousand spectators each year.
Although Castle Country doesn’t celebrate with a parade, citizens can show their patriotism by flying their flags this Saturday.
The flag has become the most prominent symbol of american patriotism and the stars and stripes serve as a reminder of the freedoms the forefathers fought for.
“You’re a grand old flag, you’re a high-flying flag, and forever in peace may you wave. You’re the emblem of the land I love, the home of the free and the brave. Ev’ry heart beats true ‘neath the Red, White and Blue, where there’s never a boast or brag. But should auld acquaintance be forgot, keep your eye on the grand old flag.”