This Weekend – Fly a Flag & Thank a Dad

Have a grand old Flag Day…

There were few public ceremonies that honored the flag until June 14, 1877, when it was flown from every government building for the centennial of the flag’s adoption. After that, many citizens and organizations advocated the adoption of a national day of commemoration for the flag. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson unofficially declared June 14 as Flag Day. Coincidentally, Wilson also proclaimed “The Star-Spangled Banner” the U.S. national anthem that same year. Nonetheless, Congress did not designate the song as the national anthem until 1931, and only in 1949 did President Harry Truman sign the legislation that made June 14 of each year Flag Day.

June 14 is designated as a day of national observance for all Americans, but is not a federal holiday. Each year, the President proclaims the commemoration and encourages all Americans in the country to display the flag outside their homes and businesses. Usually during Flag Day, the flag is flown from all public buildings, speeches are made in public places, and ceremonies take place in towns or cities.

Father’s Day:
Father’s Day was the idea of Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Sonora, one of six children, wanted to pay tribute to her father who, after the death of her mother, raised Sonora and her five siblings on his own.

After listening to a sermon on Mother’s Day in 1909, Sonora approached the speaker in regards to a similar holiday that would honor fathers. On June 6, 1910, during a meeting of local ministers at Spokane’s YMCA building, Mrs. Dodd presented a petition that requested a day be set aside in her father’s birth month of June as a national Father’s Day. The ministers endorsed the petition, and it soon gained the attention of many national figures, including Woodrow Wilson. In 1972, a proclamation by President Richard M. Nixon established Father’s Day as an annual national observance.

Here’s an idea: Buy dad a new flag to fly! Happy Father’s day to all fathers. Treat Dad to some tasty dishes. Check out our Favorite Father’s Day Foods.