Parades, BBQs and fireworks are usually the highlights of our family’s 4th of July celebration, but this year I’ve made it a point to chat with my soon-to-be preschooler about the US flag. The beautiful red, white and blue that she’s seeing everywhere these days has sparked her interest, so, why not? An early history lesson and a little American pride never hurt anyone!
Share these fun facts with your kiddos or wow the crowd with your knowledge at this year’s family gathering!
- The US Flag has quite a few nicknames some of which are Old Glory, Star-Spangled Banner and Stars and Stripes
- The moon is the farthest place a flag has flown
- Six US flags fly on the moon
- The original US flag is housed at The Smithsonian Institute
- It is only appropriate to fly the flag upside down if you are trying to signal an emergency or “Help Me!” call
- When a flag wears out, it is customary for it to be burned
- Star Spangled Banner became the USA’s official anthem in 1931
- Betsy Ross designed the first flag
- When a flag passes by during a parade US citizens are supposed to put their right hand over their heart and members of the military are supposed to salute
- Each star on the flag represents a US state and each stripe (beginning with red and then alternating with white) represents one of the original 13 colonies
- The blue part of the flag is called the canton, field or union
- When wearing a flag pin, you should wear it on your left pocket or as close to your heart as possible
- There have been 27 legal variations of the flag flown throughout our country’s history
Have those facts all stored away in your memory now? If your kids seem to have a knack for flag trivia, who knows, maybe they’ll become a vexillogist! And no, I didn’t know what a vexillogist was until I began research for this post … a vexillogist is an expert in the history and study of flags 🙂
Sources and more information … US History, Times Dispatch, WPTV, Brownie Locks, and HT Flag