CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — If you were asking yourself, “When is Flag Day in 2012?” Flag Day is this Thursday, June 14, 2012. President Woodrow Wilson designated Flag Day a national holiday in 1916 to be observed every year on June 14.
Every since the approval of the design of the Flag of the United States of America on June 14, 1777, Old Glory has come to symbolize many thing to Americans and foreigners over time. From the painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware to the inspiration of the Star Spangled Banner national anthem during the War of 1812, the American Flag has served as a focal point for artistic and literary works with historical significance.
In living memory, the Stars and Stripes serves as an image Americans alive today can quickly relate to important events that took place during their lifetime.
The U.S. Flag is associated with triumphant events in American history such as: the U.S. Marines taking Iwo Jima in 1945, the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969, and the last Summer Olympics played between the superpowers in 1988.
The U.S. Flag has also been there during times of tragedy for Americans: President John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963, the return of U.S. servicemen and woman killed in battle from foreign lands, and the flag raising over Ground Zero in 2001.
Last year, President Barack Obama directed the appropriate officials to display the flag on all Federal Government buildings during National Flag Week and urged all Americans to observe Flag Day and National Flag Week by displaying the flag.
President Obama also call upon the people of the United States to “observe with pride and all due ceremony those days from Flag Day through Independence Day … as a time to honor America, to celebrate our heritage in public gatherings and activities, and to publicly recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.”
The Library of Congress has a page devoted to the history of Flag Day, which includes activities for school age children to do on Flag Day here.
Flag day is not a holiday for federal employes, so U.S. Federal Government offices will be open on Flag Day 2012. Banks will also be open on Flag Day. U.S. Mail will be delivered and post offices will be open on Flag Day.
PHOTO CREDIT: NASA
