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This coming Monday, June 14, we celebrate Flag Day. Not many people remember this holiday, because most of us don’t get the day off from school or work. That’s why we decided to write about it this week, to remind you and educate you on this special holiday.

This year marks the 222nd birthday of the U.S. Flag. In 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes pattern for the national flag. They called upon a woman named Betsy Ross to sew a flag from the rough designs that they had drawn. What she completed on June 14, 1777 was the first U.S. national flag. At the time, the flag had thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, each stripe representing one of the 13 original colonies of England. These stripes remain the same today. However, when Ross sewed her flag, she only included thirteen stars because at this time, there were only 13 states! With the addition of each state to the Union, a new flag had to be made with another star added. By 1960 all 50 states were added to the Union as were 50 stars added to the flag. Since then, the design of the flag has remained the same.

Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, the centennial of the U.S. flag’s existence. After that, many citizens and organizations advocated the adoption of a national day of commemoration for the U.S. Flag. However, it was not until August 3, 1949, that President Harry Truman signed legislation making June 14th the National Flag Day each year.