Flag Day In The USA

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, though on June 14 1937, Rennerdale, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday.

Title 36 of the United States Code, Subtitle I, Part A, CHAPTER 1, § 110 is the official statute on Flag Day; however, it is at the President's discretion to proclaim officially the observance.

The longest-running Flag Day parade is held annually in Quincy, Massachusetts, which began 1952 and celebrated its 57th year in 2009.http://www.patriotledger.com/archive/x2036715518/Flag-Day-is-a-banner-day-in-Quincy

The 59th Annual Appleton Wisconsin 2009 Flag Day Parade will feature the U.S. Navy.

City of Appleton Wisconsin.

The largest Flag Day parade is held annually in Troy, New York, which bases its parade on the Quincy parade and typically draws 50,000 spectators.troyny.org

The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States is an oath of loyalty to the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892. The Pledge has been modified four times since then, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954. The Pledge is predominantly sworn by children in public schools in response to state laws requiring the Pledge to be offered. Congressional sessions open with the swearing of the Pledge, as do government meetings at local levels, meetings held by the Boy Scouts of America, the Freemasons and their concordant bodies, other organizations, and some sporting events.

The current version of the Pledge of Allegiance reads:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands: one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

According to the United States Flag Code, the Pledge "should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute."Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 4, US Code, http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/04C1.txt [http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/04C1.txt]