Flag Day 2017: American, North Carolina Flag Etiquette

CHARLOTTE, NC — North Carolinians pausing Wednesday to display the Stars and Stripes on Flag Day 2017 are taking part in a ritual that has its roots in the June 14, 1777, adoption of the American flag by Congress. Patch dug into the history of the day, and has a reminder on how to correctly display both the American and North Carolina flags.

A young Wisconsin teacher named Bernard Cigrand is credited with first commemorating the flag's adoption in 1885; and he campaigned for years until President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation for national Flag Day observances in 1916. In 1949, President Harry Truman signed a law designating June 14 as Flag Day, according to the National Flag Day Foundation.

Here are essentials to know about proper flag etiquette on Flag Day, as well as how to properly show respect whenever the colors are presented in ceremonies.

The American flag should be displayed from sunup to sundown. The flag may be displayed at night if it is properly illuminated after dark. The American Legion interprets “ proper illumination” as a light specifically placed to illuminate the flag (preferred) or having a light source sufficient to illuminate the flag so it is recognizable as such by the casual observer.

When you attend any service where the flag is presented, you need to know whether to salute Old Glory. During ceremonies when the flag is hoisted or raised, spectators who aren’t in military uniform should face the flag, stand at attention and place their right hands over their hearts.

Others should:

• If you’re in uniform, give a proper military salute;
• A man who is not in uniform, but is wearing a hat should take it off with his right hand and hold it at his left shoulder with his palm resting on his heart;
• If you’re not a U.S. citizen, stand at attention.

When the flag advances in a moving column, it is appropriate to salute it as it passes.

North Carolina State Flag Rules
Rules regulating placement of flags, particularly state flags in relation to the American flag and those of other countries, can be a sensitive topic, according to North Carolina’s Department of the Secretary of State.

According to NCSOS, the positions of honor in displaying flags are:

• U.S. flag either to the observer’s extreme left or the highest point in the grouping of flags followed by the flag or flags of other nations in alphabetical order.
• Then, the N.C. flag, followed by the flags of any other states in order by ratification date of the U.S. Constitution or date of admission to the Union.
• Any county or city flags would follow the state flags.

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Patch Editors Deb Belt, Beth Dalbey contributed to this report; Source: U.S. Flag Code

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