The thirteen stripes on the U.S. flag represent the thirteen original colonies, whose independence is central to America250's 250th-anniversary story.
The flag's design has seven red stripes and six white stripes. The stripes are arranged horizontally and symbolize the colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and formed the original United States.
The stars have a different meaning: each star represents one state. Congress changed the flag's star count as new states joined the Union, but the number of stripes remained thirteen. The last change to the stripes occurred in 1795, when the number briefly rose to fifteen before returning to thirteen in 1818.
Thus, the flag has 50 stars today but still has 13 stripes, preserving the founding-era number.