Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Hooray for our Grand Ol' Flag
Hooray for the American Flag! June 14th is National Flag Day.
The first American Flag was sewn by Betsy Ross in 1776. Fabric was scarce during the Revolutionary War, so Betsy used scraps on the first flag. General Washington’s coat of arms (a family symbol) had stripes over stars, and is thought to be one of the first flag’s inspirations, as well as the British Flag. On the original flag there were thirteen stripes to represent the thirteen colonies and stars to represent the new states. The flag we use today, with 50 stars, was first seen in 1960, when Hawaii became the 50th state. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14th, the day the Continental Congress ratified the flag.
The American Flag was sewn by Betsy Ross,
The fifty states have one star each,
The original 13 colonies, one strip a piece.
Purity, innocence, truth and light
Are shown in the flag’s bright white.
Red show us valor and hardiness true.
Vigilance and justice comes through in blue.
Now it’s your turn… design a flag for you or for your family. What objects are important? What ideas could they symbolize? What colors are meaningful to you?