In Scotland, the Scottish Government has decreed that the Flag of Scotland ("the Saltire") will fly on all its buildings every day from 8am until sunset, but there is no specific policy on flying the Union Flag and as such it is sometimes flown alongside the Saltire and sometimes omitted. An exception is made for "national days". On these days, the Saltire shall be lowered and replaced with the Union Flag. These are the same as the flag days noted above with the exception of: For 'smaller' features that require no more than 1–2 quarters of work, experimental availability is provided by enabling the following flag: Both the stripes (barry) and the stars (mullets) have precedents in classical heraldry. Mullets were comparatively rare in early modern heraldry. However, an example of mullets representing territorial divisions predating the U.S. flag is the Valais 1618 coat of arms, where seven mullets stood for seven districts. The Union Flag is worn at the masthead of a ship to indicate the presence of the sovereign or an Admiral of the Fleet. [83] [ unreliable source?] The Union Flag may also be flown from the yardarm to indicate that a court-martial is in progress, though these are now normally held at shore establishments.

In 1912, the 48-star flag was adopted. This was the first time that a flag act specified an official arrangement of the stars in the canton, namely six rows of eight stars each, where each star would point upward. [58] The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy, however, has already been using standardized designs. Throughout the 19th century, different star patterns, both rectangular and circular, had been abundant in civilian use. [ citation needed] Parry, Richard Lloyd; Blet, Raphael (14 June 2019), "Colonial nostalgia rules in Hong Kong as young refuse to accept China's authority", The Times , retrieved 5 July 2019 The flag consists of the red cross of Saint George, patron saint of England, superimposed on the saltire of Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. Its correct proportions are 3:5. The blue field on the flag was sky blue at first, but over time, the blue began to darken. [5] Sierra Leone". Flags, badges & arms of His Majesty's dominions beyond the seas and of territories under His Majesty's protection. Vol.2: Arms. London: HMSO. 1932. p.31. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06 . Retrieved 2022-01-06.a b Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall Yard. W. Mitchell. 1895. pp.181–185 . Retrieved 10 February 2023. Fowler, Jean, ed. (1990), Reed's Nautical Almanac 1990, New Malden, Surrey: Thomas Reed Publications Limited, pp.16:2–16:3, ISBN 0-947637-36-2 Chinese now refer to the United States as Měiguó from Mandarin ( simplified Chinese: 美国; traditional Chinese: 美國). Měi is short for Měilìjiān ( simplified Chinese: 美利坚; traditional Chinese: 美利堅, phono-semantic matching of "American") and "guó" means "country", so this name is unrelated to the flag. However, the "flower flag" terminology persists in some places today: for example, American ginseng is called flower flag ginseng ( simplified Chinese: 花旗参; traditional Chinese: 花旗參) in Chinese, and Citibank, which opened a branch in China in 1902, is known as Flower Flag Bank ( 花旗银行). [66]

a b c Duffy, Jonathan (10 April 2006). "Union recognition". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton, referred to as the union and bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows, where rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternate with rows of five stars. The 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 U.S. states, and the 13 stripes represent the thirteen British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain, which they obtained in their victory in the American Revolutionary War. [1] Section 8, entitled "Respect For Flag", states in part: "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery", and "No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform". Section 3 of the Flag Code [106] defines "the flag" as anything "by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag of the United States of America". An additional provision that is frequently violated at sporting events is part (c) "The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free." [107]

a b c d e f g Sum, Lok-kei (22 August 2019). "Are Hong Kong protesters pro-American or British when they wave the US and UK flags? The answer is complicated". South China Morning Post. SCMP Publishers . Retrieved 26 June 2020.

When Alaska and Hawaii were being considered for statehood in the 1950s, more than 1,500 designs were submitted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Although some were 49-star versions, the vast majority were 50-star proposals. At least three of these designs were identical to the present design of the 50-star flag. [59] At the time, credit was given by the executive department to the United States Army Institute of Heraldry for the design. [ citation needed] The 49- and 50-star flags were each flown for the first time at Fort McHenry on Independence Day, in 1959 and 1960 respectively. [60] Kwan, Elizabeth (2006). Flag and Nation: Australians and their national flags since 1901. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 1-7422-4687-7. If you're an enterprise IT admin, you should not use Chrome flags in production. You might want to take a look at enterprise policies instead. # ...and proceed with caution a b Bartram, Graham; Flags & Heraldry Committee (2010). Flying Flags in the United Kingdom (PDF) (PDF). London: The Flag Institute. ISBN 978-0-9513286-1-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2014 . Retrieved 13 August 2014.The parliamentary resolution requires the Royal Union Flag to be flown alongside the national flag of Canada (if there are at least two flag poles available) on federal properties on Commonwealth Day, Victoria Day (the monarch's official birthday in Canada), 11 December (the anniversary of the enactment of the Statute of Westminster, 1931), and when otherwise instructed to do so by the National Defence Headquarters. [107] [106] The Royal Union Flag may also be formally flown alongside the flag of Canada at federal locations in Canada for ceremonies, anniversaries, and other events relating to the Canadian Armed Forces or other forces in the Commonwealth. [107] [106] Prior to the Civil War, the American flag was rarely seen outside of military forts, government buildings and ships. This changed following the Battle of Fort Sumter in 1861. The flag flying over the fort was allowed to leave with the Union troops as they surrendered. It was taken across Northern cities, which spurred a wave of "Flagmania". The Stars and Stripes, which had had no real place in the public conscious, suddenly became a part of the national identity. The flag became a symbol of the Union, and the sale of flags exploded at this time. The flag is customarily flown year-round at most public buildings, and it is not unusual to find private houses flying full-size (3 by 5 feet (0.91 by 1.52m)) flags. Some private use is year-round, but becomes widespread on civic holidays like Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day, Flag Day, and on Independence Day. On Memorial Day, it is common to place small flags by war memorials and next to the graves of U.S. war veterans. Also, on Memorial Day, it is common to fly the flag at half staff until noon to remember those who lost their lives fighting in U.S. wars.