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Flag Day Celebration Barbecue
by Martha Matthews
Since the tragedies of September 11th, holidays that commemorate our
patriotism are looked at in a new light; we no longer take them for
granted.
Flag Day commemorates the day in 1777 that the Continental Congress
first adopted the stars and stripes as the official flag of these United
States of America. Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877 on the 100th
anniversary of our flag. Congress requested that all public buildings
fly the flag on June 14th of that year. President Woodrow Wilson
proclaimed Flag Day an annual national celebration and President Harry
S. Truman officially recognized Flag Day by signing the National Flag
Day Bill. Every year since then, each president has proclaimed June 14th
to be Flag Day.
Flag Day is celebrated simultaneously, at 7 p.m. EDT, across America so
that we can all share in this patriotic moment together.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, have all your neighbors get
together for a good old fashioned barbeque. First, get a permit to block
off your street. Then, have everyone fly their American flags. Get the
kids to decorate their bikes with streamers and have a parade. Ask each
family to bring a dish and fire up the barbecue grills. At 7 p.m., EDT,
request that everyone pause for a moment to say the pledge of allegiance
(brings tears to my eyes to think about it). You could also have
everyone sing the national anthem. Next, break out the hot dogs and
hamburgers and dig in. After dark, break out the sparklers.
This is a great opportunity to meet neighbors you may not know well and
build some great friendships. Have fun and give this great flag of ours
the respect it deserves. Oh, and don't forget to have everyone take
their flags down at sunset. That's proper flag etiquette. Enjoy!
About the author
Martha Matthews is a wife, mother, home manager and the Executive
Director of Christian-Homemaking.com,
a web site with resources devoted to helping Christian Homemakers Manage
their home. She also has a popular free monthly newsletter for Christian
Homemakers called The Christian Homemaking Newsletter. To subscribe visit
www.christian-homemaking.com/newsletter.html
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