(NEXSTAR) — Since it was established, Memorial Day has had a clear purpose: giving Americans a day to honor those who have died in American wars. Unlike other holidays, its significance also comes with special guidelines on how the American flag should be flown.
Memorial Day’s origins stretch back to the late 1800s, when Decoration Day was established three years after the end of the Civil War. It was meant to give the nation a day to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Decoration Day was eventually set for May 30 to correspond with flowers being in bloom.
Years later, the holiday would be renamed Memorial Day.
Though dozens of places have been linked to the origins of Memorial Day, the VA noted that Congress and President Lyndon Johnson bestowed that title upon Waterloo, New York in 1966. There, a ceremony had been held annually on May 5 to honor local veterans of the Civil War. Like our current Memorial Day, businesses would close for the day.
It wasn’t until the end of World War I that Memorial Day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Congress declared the last Monday of May Memorial Day, making it a national holiday.
From Waterloo to its official holiday declaration, U.S. flags had been a central part of the celebrations and tributes. The United States Code has specific guidelines for flying Old Glory on Memorial Day, though:
- U.S. flags should fly at half-staff from sunrise until noon.
- At noon, flags should be “raised briskly” to the top of the staff.
- Flags should be flown at full-staff until sunset on Memorial Day.
There are a handful of other holidays in which flags are to fly at half-staff, albeit for the entire day. That includes the recently observed Peace Officer Memorial Day, Patriot Day, National Korean War Armistice Day, National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend, and Pearl Harbor Day. The president can also issue orders lowering the flags to half-staff as a mark of respect following the death of a principal figure.
We’ve had several of those orders in recent months, following the deaths of Pope Francis and President Jimmy Carter.
Whether the flag is flying at half-staff or full-staff, it should only be displayed from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. When raised, it should always be done briskly; when lowered, it should be done so ceremoniously. If illuminated at night, the flag can remain up at all times.
American flags on walls should be hung so the union, or stars, are in the top left corner. The same should be said for those hanging in windows, but the union should be in the upper left corner for those viewing it from the outside.
In only one situation can a flag or pennant be displayed above the U.S. flag: During church services conducted at sea by naval chaplains for personnel of the Navy, the church pennant may appear above the American flag.
