On June 14, 1777, almost a year after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and almost eleven years before the Constitution of the United States was ratified by the required number of states, the Continental Congress, recognizing the need for a flag to symbolize unity and independence, adopted a design for a national flag for the new nation. That legislative body resolved that “The flag of the United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, with a union of thirteen stars of white on a field of blue, representing a new constellation.” Since the stars represent the states in the union, the only change in the original design, after flirting with extra stripes, has been to add a star each time a new state has been admitted to the union of states.
In 1895, one hundred and eight years after the adoption of the flag, the Congress of the United States resolved that June 14 be designated as Flag Day. While it was not designated then as, and is not now, a legal holiday, Flag Day was established as a means for the nation to observe, in a meaningful way, the anniversary of the adoption of our flag.
For true patriots, the flag—sometimes knows as the Stars and Stripes, at other times as the Star Spangled Banner, and frequently as Old Glory—is a thing of rare beauty. But, waving in the gentle breeze, its beauty is more than a carefully coordinated combination of colors and a dazzling display of geometric designs. Its real splendor is found in that for which it is symbolic. As the standard of the nation and the ensign of the people, the flag stands for freedom, independence, and unity.
Masons are men who respect the flag and those ideals for which it stands. It has a prominent place in a Masonic Lodge, and at the appropriate time Masons stand erect and pledge their allegiance to the flag.
On June 14, as the nation observes Flag Day, stop when the flag is wafting in the breeze and, for a moment, contemplate its real meaning. Then, in the depth of your heart, be thankful for the flag and the nation for which it is the standard.
