Wave the Flag Proudly

Today is Flag Day but what does that really mean? This is the day that we commemorate the adoption of the original American flag, consisting of thirteen alternating red and white stripes with thirteen stars in a circle on a field of blue, by the Continental Congress with the First Flag Act on June 14th, 1777.

According to an article I found at NJ.com, although this holiday is observed nationwide it isn't actually a federal holiday. It was left out of the 1968 Uniform Holiday Act which set the eleven official federal holidays and three-day weekend holidays that are celebrated to this day. The state of Pennsylvania was the first state to establish Flag Day as a state holiday back in 1937.

By the way, although you were probably taught that Betsy Ross was commissioned to make the first American flag in 1776, there isn't any official documentation to confirm this story that was presented to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania nearly a century later by her grandson, William Canby. You can find out more at History.com.