It’s Flag Day.

It doesn’t receive as much attention as Independence Day, but it’s a holiday that prompts proud Americans and government buildings to display their U.S. flags. The photo above shows a flag along Capitol Way in Olympia, on the Capitol Campus.

So how did June 14 become Flag Day? The “Stars and Stripes” originated as a result of a resolution offered by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia and adopted on June 14, 1777. The resolution read:

“Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

As anyone who studied American history in grade school knows, the 13 stripes represent the original colonies. Of course, the number of stars on the flag has grown since independence; the 50th star, representing Hawaii’s statehood, was added in 1960. A year before that, a star was added when Alaska joined the union as the 49th state. Before that, no star had been added since 1912, when New Mexico and Arizona were admitted to the union. Washington was state No. 42 back in 1889.

Check out this Washington Post story that discusses five myths about the U.S. flag.

The Secretary of State’s Olympia office and website proudly display, interpret and sell state and U.S. flags, and operate a flag donation program. Visit here for more info.