June 14 is commemorated annually as Flag Day because the Continental Congress adopted the first official Stars and Stripes design on June 14, 1777.
The Flag Resolution specified 13 alternating red and white stripes and 13 white stars on a blue field. The stripes represented the thirteen United States, while the stars represented a new constellation. The resolution did not prescribe the stars’ arrangement, so early versions could differ in appearance.
The flag adopted in 1777 was not the same as today’s flag. As new states joined the Union, Congress added stars and, for a time, additional stripes. The Flag Act of 1818 restored the permanent 13-stripe pattern and provided for adding one star for each new state.
Flag Day is not the national Independence Day holiday. Independence Day falls on July 4 and commemorates the Declaration of Independence’s approval in 1776. June 14 instead recalls a congressional decision about national symbolism. The current 50-star design dates from 1960, after Hawaii became a state.