Flag Day

Each June 14, millions of Americans celebrate Flag Day by displaying the red, white and blue United States’ flag outside their homes and workplaces, and participate in parades or other events and ceremonies. In honor of Flag Day, the American Peace Corps volunteers led participants in the June 11 English Talk Lab session in a discussion about the commemoration, the history of the U.S. banner, and values, traditions and etiquette involving flags in general, including Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow national flag.
The American Flag Day was created to celebrate the anniversary of June 14, 1777, the day when the Second Continental Congress adopted the flag of the United States. This congressional resolution came during the American Revolution, almost a year after America had declared its freedom from Great Britain with the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The original American flag had 13 five-pointed stars on a blue background, as well as 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes, signifying the number of colonies rebelling against Great Britain. Over the years, the number of stars has increased to 50 – one for each state – but the number of stripes has been fixed at 13 since the year 1818.
It was fitting that the Flag Day discussion was held in the library’s Window on America information center in the Department of Foreign Languages.
Participants also were treated to an acoustic guitar performance by Dmitriy, a music student. He sang three songs that he wrote.
The session concluded with a report from Pasha, a Talk Lab member who recently attended a student leadership conference in Kiev. Pasha said he was impressed with the speech given by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and had the opportunity to present a gift to this world leader. Photos.