United States · June 14, 2026

Flag Day

June 14 — the day the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes, in 1777.

What happened

The resolution of 14 June 1777 said the flag should be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, with thirteen white stars on a blue field. It did not say how to arrange the stars, which is why early flags differ so much. The Betsy Ross story is traditional rather than documented — it was told publicly by her grandson almost a century later.

Why it stuck

A flag is a piece of design that has to work at a distance, in wind, upside down, and in one color. That is a genuinely interesting problem for a child to think about.

What a family can do

Design a flag for your family. Three colors, one shape, no words.

Questions to work through

1. The 1777 resolution does not say how to arrange the stars. Draw three arrangements that would all be legal.
2. Count the stripes and the stars today. What does each number stand for?
3. Why would a flag need to be readable in one color?