ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was 245 years ago on June 14 when the Continental Congress officially adopted the red, white and blue American flag. Flag Day is celebrated to remember its history and how we honor it.
People can celebrate Flag Day by supporting local veterans. Rochester's Veterans Outreach Center has been giving out flags at locations across the Greater Rochester area that you can get by donating to the center.
Volunteers passed out flags over the weekend at more than 40 different businesses.
The money donated will go towards helping the almost 2,000 veterans the center serves by providing mental health counseling, job placements, housing and more.
"The awareness for the veterans, I think, is the flag is what they fought for and how they protect us and the world and we're hopeful that just using Flag Day and all the symbolism that comes with that, all the rich traditions, all the ways of folding and disposing of the flag, displaying the flag, are used and we remind people about that and that people know that the Veterans Outreach Center is a resource for them," said Michael Hardy, associate director of advancement for the center.
Here are some ways to be sure to honor the flag of the United States of America correctly:
- Flags should not have any markings, drawings, insignias or any other designs outside of their inherent design
- The blue part of the flag with the 50 white stars representing the states, known as the union, should always be upright towards the peak of the staff
- When displayed, the union should always be to your left, when looking at it
- A worn-out flag should be retired by cutting the union from the red and white stripes, and then the pieces should be burned in a fire
Many organizations like the American Legion and Boy Scouts of America have ceremonies to retire the American flag on Flag Day.