Flag Tips

Feeling patriotic and wish you had a very special flag to fly?

        How about owning a flag that has flown above the Capitol of the US? To purchase a flag that have been flown over the Capitol, write or phone the Senator of your state, or the Representative of your national district. Flags are available for purchase in sizes of 3' x 5' or 5' x 8' in fabrics of cotton and nylon. A certificate signed by the Architect of the Capitol comes with each flag. But there's a waiting list, of course, so don't plan or having it by return mail. But think — what a great gift for a special person on July 4, 2003!

Know your Flagetiquette

1. The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.
   
2. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker's desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.
   
3. When the flag of the United States is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle from the window sill, balcony, or front of a building, the union of the flag should be placed at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half staff.
   
4. When displayed either horizontally or vertically against a wall, the union should be uppermost and to the flag's own right, that is, to the observer's left. When displayed in a window, the flag should be displayed in the same way, with the union or blue field to the left of the observer in the street.
   
5. It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated.