Old Glory in all its glory: Peruse these Flag Day stories

Liz Johnson, NorthJersey.com
Updated ·3 min read

It's Flag Day!

It's one of those holidays we love to celebrate with stories — whether about the largest flag in the world (right here on the George Washington Bridge) or the city that proudly displays flags on its skyline (Newark). We've written about how flags can be divisive (more than once) and how they should be celebrated.

Here's a collection of Flag Day stories for you to peruse — along with lots of photos of Old Glory in all its glory.

It's Flag Day, do you know how to properly display the Stars and Stripes?

Flag Day, which marks the adoption of the United States flag on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress, is the perfect time to learn some does and don'ts. Read it: How to display the flag properly.

For Flag Day, world's biggest American flag comes out of hiding

The biggest free-flying American flag in the world spends 356 days a year hiding in a secret steel tube. The tube is dark and shiny inside, and it smells faintly of fresh paint. It is suspended vertically just north of dead-center from the New Jersey tower of the George Washington Bridge. Read it: For Flag Day, world's biggest American flag comes out of hiding.

Editorial: I am your flag

This essay was part of the program at a recent flag retirement ceremony; the author is unknown. It begins: "Some people cal me Old Glory; others call me the Star-Spangled Banner. But, whatever they call me. I am your flag — the flag of the United States of America.: Read it: I am your flag.

New Jersey's connection to the Stars and Stripes

The idea of Betsey Ross being the designer and maker of the first American flag is now considered by most historians to be the stuff of legend. Mostly forgotten is a gentleman from New Jersey who designed the banner adopted as the American flag by Congress in 1777. Read it: NJ's connection to the flag.

Flags are supposed to unify us. In an increasingly divided United States, that's not the case

One nation, indivisible. That's the meaning of the flag we celebrate on Flag Day — June 14. Since 1954, when the clause was added to the Pledge of Allegiance, we even celebrate it under God. But in our disunited United States of 2019, our indivisible flag is becoming a wee bit…divisive? Read it: Flags are supposed to unify us. In increasingly divided United States, that's not the case.

Every city has its own skyline. In Newark, it's all about the flags

The flag flying on the roof of 1180 Raymond Blvd. measures twenty feet by thirty feet. The flag is typically replaced every three to four months, however due to a flag shortage as a result of the pandemic the building has had to wait longer than usual to replace their flag.
The flag flying on the roof of 1180 Raymond Blvd. measures twenty feet by thirty feet. The flag is typically replaced every three to four months, however due to a flag shortage as a result of the pandemic the building has had to wait longer than usual to replace their flag.

Each city has its distinctive skyline. New York: a jagged-tooth comb. Paris: a gameboard, flat, with a single token — the Eiffel Tower — sticking up out of the middle. And Newark? Newark has flags. Read it: Every city has its own skyline. In Newark, it's all about the flags

On Flag Day, Old Glory should be a sign of unity, not a political football | Mary Chao

A U.S. Navy officer places an American flag in the lawn of Cliffside Park High School with student volunteers to honor those who died in combat ahead of Memorial Day on Monday, May 22, 2023.
A U.S. Navy officer places an American flag in the lawn of Cliffside Park High School with student volunteers to honor those who died in combat ahead of Memorial Day on Monday, May 22, 2023.

In July of 1987, I pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and renounced my citizenship to the country of my birth, Taiwan. I was in awe of the 13 stripes representing the original colonies, the 50 stars representing the states, in a blazing glory of red, white and blue. It was a symbol of hope and welcome. It's a memory I return to on this Flag Day, even as that symbol of a nation indivisible has somehow become divisive, politicized like everything else in modern-day America.  Read it: Old Glory should be a sign of unity.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Flag Day 2023: Our coverage of Old Glory in all its glory