Flag Day and UFC Freedom 250: The history behind the White House’s patriotic fight night

While seeing the Stars and Stripes flying from homes and buildings across the United States is a common sight, the reverence peaks around June 14. This year, that patriotic display is hitting a fever pitch as the nation celebrates Flag Day today alongside a massive, high-profile spectacle: UFC Freedom 250, taking place right on the White House lawn.

With the eyes of the sporting and political worlds locked on Washington, D.C. for President Trump’s celebration, many are left wondering about the deeper origins of the historic holiday framing tonight’s fights.

During the American Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress passed a motion determining the first flag that would be used to represent the new nation. The decision was made on 14 June 1777 and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established the date as Flag Day.

A few decades later the US Congress passed a law that allows US presidents to proclaim an observance of the holiday. Cities and towns across the United States have planned parades and other celebrations for most of the twentieth century.

Quincy, Massachusetts, which has held a parade on Flag Day since 1952, continued the tradition this year. On 10 June, the small New England town hosted the 71st annual parade which featured “bands/drum corps, more than a dozen specialty units, public safety and veterans’ color guards, floats, and more than 1,000 flag-waving youngsters.”

The US flag is additionally “stands for hope, pride, and progress” which is displayed with honor on everything from our exports to our spacecraft flying high above. As well “it waves for justice and equality” flying high over our courthouses and schools, and where free and fair elections are held across the nation “reinforcing the promise of our democracy.”

The First US Flag

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Some may recall from their grade school years that the first US flag was designed by seamstress Betsy Ross. Out of more than seventeen submissions, Ross’ flag was chosen for how its simple design was able to capture the spirit of the revolution. The simple design looks very similar to the one used today with one notable exception -- the number of stars. At the time of its creation, thirteen stars were used to represent each of the founding colonies that fought in the Revolutionary War.

As more states were added to the Union, so was a star for each of them. The most recent star to be added represents Hawaii, which became the 50th state in 1959.