People show their appreciation, patriotism for the United States wearing various items featuring a USA flag pattern. The flag can be anchored to their house, it can be a sticker, a hat, a T-shirt, a scarf, but it can also be anything else. The American flag includes thirteen horizontal stripes of red at top and bottom, alternating with a blue rectangle and also with white. The blue rectangle in the canton is named “the union”, referring to fifty small, white and five-pointed stars, the 50 starts representing the 50 states of the United States of America, while the 13 stripes refer to the thirteen British colonies which became independent from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
The American flag is flown around many public institutions and organizations. Additionally, as the United States of America is the most powerful country in the world, the flag is also worldwide known. The US astronauts also wear this flag, so patriotism is very encouraged in the United States of America. The flag has been nicknamed
‘Old Glory”, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, as well as “Stars and Stripes”. In the past, the flag was more important as a military ensign or for marking territories and it was also displayed on the Fourth Of July. Today, the American flag is displayed also on private residences and is also used in various speeches to refer to the United States and represents a set of ideals.
Over the past years, the USA flag has become an important and powerful symbol of Americanism, being flown on many occasions and even by retail outlets. Desecrating the USA flag is an outrage, but is also protected as freedom of speech. The flag is widespread on events such as Veterans Day, Independence Day, President’s Day, as well as Memorial Day, Flag Day and many others. It’s banned to dip the flag and it should never be allowed to touch the ground and if flown at night, it has to be illuminated. The American flag has also appeared on postage stamps, in museums, at half-staff in naval usage, in funerals and many other events. The star-flag was ordered by President Eisenhower in 1959 and, officially, its design has been changed 26 times since then. There are similar flags in the world such as the flag of Malaysia, of Liberia, Bikini Atoll, of Togo and of El Salvador.
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