美国国旗日
美国的国旗日(Flag Day)是纪念美国大陆会议1777年6月14日通过美国第一面由贝蒂€€罗斯(Betsy Ross)所设计的正式“星条”国旗 (当年只有13颗星)。美国第一次大规模的国旗纪念活动是在1876年庆祝建国100周年时进行的。19世纪90年代,不少公立学校倡议每年在6月14日举行国旗纪念活动,很快得到了广泛的响应。1893年费城首先承认6月14日为国旗日。
国旗
是国家的一种标志，是国家的象征。它通过一定的式样、色彩和图案反映一个国家政治特色和历史文化传统。在一个主权国家领土上一般不得随意悬挂他国国旗。在国际交往中，形成了悬挂国旗的一些惯例，为各国所公认。在建筑物上或在室外悬挂国旗，一般应日出升旗，日落降旗。遇需悬旗致哀，通常的做法是降半旗，即先升至杆顶，再下降至离杆顶相当于杆长三分之一的地方。也有的国家不降半旗，而是在国旗上方挂黑纱致哀。升降国旗时，要立正脱帽行注目礼，升国旗一定要升至杆顶。悬挂双方国旗，按国际惯例，以右为上，左为下。两国国旗并挂，以旗本身面向为准，右挂客方国旗，左挂本国国旗。汽车上挂国旗，则以汽车行进方向为准，驾驶员左手为主方，右手为客方。所谓主客，不以活动举行所在国为依据，而以举办活动的主人为依据。国旗不能倒挂。有些国家的国旗由于文字和图案的原因，也不能竖挂或反挂。有的国家明确规定，竖挂需另制旗，将图案转正。各国国旗图案，式样，颜色，比例均由本国宪法规定，不同国家的国旗如比例不同，同样尺寸制作，两面旗帜放在一起，就会显得大小不一，因此，并排悬挂不同比例的国旗，应将其中一面略放大或缩小。
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Flag Day（美国国旗日）
Flag Day (US)
June 14
National flags are not merely symbols of a country. Their colors and designs convey past history and future goals. Flags have powerfulconnotations（内涵）. They speak to the people and politicians. People of one country will burn the flag of another with whose politics they do not agree. To show their anger, students display their own nation's flags with the design altered or cut out completely. Dictators fly flags;dissidents（持不同政见者） rip them down. In every country of the world, the treatment of a flag displays an opinion or statement.
Americans take the treatment of their flag seriously and in the 20th century this has become an important issue. Included in the code of ethics are such rules as the national flag cannot be used for advertising. It cannot cover a monument or any ceilings. It must not be folded while being displayed. No one should write on an American flag. Ships can lower their flags slightly in greeting each other, but otherwise should not be dipped for any other object or person.
字串3 In the late 1960s, American students wore small flags sewn to the back of their jeans, symbolically insulting the American government and protesting its involvement in the Vietnam War. They burned the American flag in front of theCapitol Building（国会大厦）in Washington as a statement of protest. In the early 1990s, senators suggested an amendment to theConstitution（宪法）that would make this treatment of the flag illegal. Theproposition（提议、议案）was opposed because many others felt that this change would be a violation of Americans' constitutional rights to express their opinions freely.
For all the controversy it is interesting to point out that the United States did not even have a standardized flag until 1912! Called the "Stars and Stripes," or "Old Glory," the flag is one of the most complicated in the world. No other flag needs 64 pieces of fabric to make. The current flag has 13 red and whitealternating（交互的）stripes (representing the original 13 states) and 50 stars (each star represents one of the states of the Union) on a blue background.
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The American flag has also changed designs more than any other flag in the world. The first flag, called the Grand Union, was first flown at the headquarters of the Continent Army on January 1, 1776. Betsy Ross, aseamstress(女裁缝), is said to have contributed to this design. She had anupholstery（室内装潢）business which made flags for navy ships in Pennsylvania. A legend still persists that she showed George Washington how to make a five-pointed star and suggested thirteen stars in a circle for the first flag. Her descendants claimed that she offered the design. Actually, she and George Washington never met! George Washington did design the Grand Union.
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress proposed that the United States have a national flag instead of the British Union Jack. The 13 stars of the flag represented the 13 new states. There were few public ceremonies honoring the Stars and Stripes until 1877, when on, June 14, it was flown from every government building in honor of thecentennial（百年纪念）of the adoption of a national flag. Schools hadunfurled（展示）American flags over their doors or outside the buildings long before this; but in 1890, North Dakota and New Jersey made a law that required their schools to fly the flag daily. The first official Flag Day was observed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1893. New York also proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day 1897. Other states were slow to follow. Some people thought that the day was too close to Memorial Day and Independence Day.
字串8 In August 1949, President Harry S. Truman proclaimed June 14 as Flag Day. Since then the President proclaims thecommemoration（纪念会）yearly, and encourages all Americans in the country to display the Stars and Stripes outside their homes and businesses. Individual states determine how they will observe the day. In Pennsylvania and American Samoa it is a public holiday. Usually the flag is flown from all public buildings, speeches are made in public places and ceremonies take place in towns or cities。
