Category: Events

Newsweek Magazine: United States Flag Store is #3 for “Collectibles”

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Congratulations to everyone at United States Flag Store! 

In September 2019, United States Flag Store was awarded in Newsweek magazine’s inaugural list of the Best Online Shops 2020! This list includes 1,000 online stores, each ranked within their respective industries ranging from “Garden, Furniture & Supplies,” “Hobby, Leisure Items,” “Car, Motorcycle, Boats,” and many more. 

How was the award determined?

This is no simple award. Over 9,500 online stores were initially assessed using 48 subjective and objective criteria. Stores that passed the initial evaluation were then assessed by Statista Inc., a data-research firm, according to 41 additional criteria. Data was also collected by a nationwide survey of over 8,000 American online shoppers. Shoppers thoroughly evaluated each online store according to seven subjective criteria. As a result of this data analysis, 1,000 online stores spanning eight industries and 39 categories qualified for the inaugural list of the Best Online Shops 2020.

United States Flag Store ranked as the #3 online store in the “Collectibles” category

United States Flag Store is a leading supplier of durable high quality flags, flag poles, and flag accessories in the United States. Despite our name, we carry a diverse selection of flags including thousands of countries, religions, and sports. We also offer specialty flags such as military and POW flags, and decorative flags for every major holiday. No matter what type of flag you’re searching for, we are sure to carry it! 

Thank you to our excellent employees and valued customers – this award would not be possible without you!

Interested in seeing all we have to offer? Visit our online store.

To read the published Newsweek article and see the full list of online shops, please visit here.

Have questions or comments? Please contact us toll free at 1-877-734-2458.

St. Patrick’s Day Flags

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United States Flag Store has a great assortment of St. Patrick’s Day Flags to decorate your house, yard and mailbox. Available in both garden or banner flag styles, our flags are made for outdoor use, so they are fit to withstand most weather conditions. We also carry decorative mailbox covers for the holidays, too.

Our decorative banner flags are made of high quality polyester with applique or embroidered lettering and images. Each flag measures 28 inches x 40 inches and the designs are readable from both sides. Our garden flags measure 13 inches x 18 inches and are also readable from both sides.

The mailbox covers are made from all-weather vinyl and is pre-cut to fit standard (T1) rural mailboxes (6.5 inches W x 19 inches D). These covers are UV-printed for vibrant reproduction and exceptional durability.

Available in garden sizes, the Shamrocks & Ladbybugs flag features a whimsical design sure to delight. Also available as a mailbox cover.

The Gold St. Patrick’s provides a colorful welcome to guests. Available in both a banner and a garden flag, as well as a mailbox cover.

United States Flag Store also carries Ireland’s national flag , as well as the Erin Go Bragh flags. These flags are available in different sizes, including stick flag size.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with these bright and colorful flags. United States flag store also carries wall mount flag poles for the banner flags and a garden flagpole for the garden flags.

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll-free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

A Few Facts About President’s Day

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February is a popular month among our past presidents – both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were born in February (as were William H Harrison and Ronald Reagan), and President’s Day falls on the third Monday of the month. But who exactly does President’s Day celebrate?

It all started in 1800. After George Washington’s death in 1799, his birthday (February 22) became a national day of remembrance. The 1832 centennial of his birth and the start of construction of the Washington Monument in 1848 kept Washington’s memory in the national spotlight, and the tradition endured. In 1879, Washington’s Birthday officially became a federal holiday. At first, it was only celebrated in the District of Columbia, but in 1885 it was expanded to the whole country.

Washington was the first individual to be honored with a federal holiday; it would be another 98 years before Martin Luther King, Jr. became the second.

As we all know, President’s Day doesn’t fall on Washington’s February 22nd birthday. This is because in 1971, Richard Nixon signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This law shifted several federal holidays from predetermined dates to designated Mondays. The bill received support from both the private sector (who knew that more long weekends would increase retail sales) and labor unions (who liked the idea of more long weekends for workers). The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also included a provision to combine Abraham Lincoln’s February 12th birthday and George Washington’s February 22nd birthday; in many states, both birthdays were celebrated.

Thus, President’s Day was born. Though originally intended to celebrate Washington and Lincoln specifically, the holiday is now popularly seen as a day to celebrate all presidents, past and present.

Some states have even chosen to customize the holiday by adding new figures to the celebration. Arkansas, for instance, celebrates Washington as well as civil rights activist Daisy Gatson Bates. Alabama, meanwhile, uses Presidents Day to commemorate Washington and Thomas Jefferson (who was born in April).

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll-free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

National Law Enforcement Appreciation – January 9, 2019

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Across the United States, January 9th is a call to the nation’s citizens to support law enforcement. Law Enforcement Officers of every rank and file have chosen a profession that puts their life on the line every day for their communities. They’ve answered a call to public service that is demanding and often unappreciated. On National Law Enforcement Day, we have an opportunity to thank them for their service and offer a token of respect.

National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day was founded in 2015 to thank officers across the country for all the daily sacrifices they make for their communities.

There were numerous organizations in support of the inaugural day of National Law Enforcement Officers Appreciation Day that included:

  • Concerns of Police Survivors
  • FBI National Academy Associates
  • Fraternal Order of Police
  • International Association of Chief of Police
  • Officer Down Memorial Page
  • Law Enforcement United
  • National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
  • International Conference of Police Chaplains
  • National Troopers Coalition

Since 2015, many more organizations have joined forces to support National Law Enforcement Appreciate Day (L.E.A.D.) to spread encouragement and respect to these dedicated men and women.

There are several ways to show our support to these heroes:

  • Change your profile pic on social media to the .jpg image provided at https://www.facebook.com/nationalcops
  • Wear blue clothing in support of law enforcement
  • Send a card of support to your local police department or state agency
  • Share a story about a positive law enforcement experience on social media
  • Participate in Project Blue Light by proudly displaying your blue light in support of law enforcement
  • Attend or organize an event or a rally in support of your law enforcement officers

Finally, and most importantly, if you see a police officer, thank them.

United States Flag Store offers an assortment of police flags supporting these brave public servants. The thin blue line is used by law enforcement as a symbol to commemorate fallen comrades and show support for living officers. Each stripe has its own meaning, the black stripe on the top is the public, the bottom black stripe is the criminals. The thin blue line in the middle that separates the two is a representation of law enforcement, they are what stand between the two.

We are here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

National Wreaths Across America Day

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National Wreaths Across America Day is observed annually on the 3rd Saturday in December.

National Wreaths Across America Day is a volunteer program to cover all Veterans grave markers with a Christmas wreath. The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember, honor and teach. By organizing wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and other veterans’ cemeteries around the country, Wreaths Across America strives to remember our fallen heroes, honor those who serve and teach our children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve our freedoms.

Wreaths Across America coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 1,400 locations across the United States, at sea and abroad. December was chosen because there is no better time to express appreciation than during the holiday season for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

This wonderful display of remembrance began in 1992 when Morrill Worcester and his business Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, had a surplus of wreaths toward the end of the holiday season. Years before at the age of 12, Worcester had visited Arlington National Cemetery in our nation’s capital. The experience had reminded him through his life of the sacrifice some had made in order for others, including himself, to succeed and flourish.

Plans were made to lay the wreaths in honor of our Veterans at an older, less visited section of Arlington National Cemetery. Volunteers stepped forward to help deliver and place the wreaths.

Becoming an annual, yet quiet tribute, this went on for several years. Then in 2005, a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated around the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help with Arlington, to model after the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries, or to simply share their stories and thank Morrill Worcester for honoring our nation’s heroes.

In 2007, the Wreaths Across America non-profit group was founded. The event has expanded to all 50 states to lay wreaths at veterans’ cemeteries to remember our fallen heroes, honor those who serve and teach our children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families.

In 2008, over 300 locations held wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries. Over 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. Over 60,000 volunteers participated. And that year, December 13, 2008 was unanimously voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day”.

To learn how you can volunteer or sponsor wreaths, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org

Continue to honor our veterans with a grave marker. Available for each military branch and war, we also have markers for firefighters, police officers, and masonic lodge.

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

Veterans Day

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Veterans Day 2018 will be the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended World War I.

Veterans Day celebrates the service of all United States military veterans who have fought and who continue to fight today. Previously known as Armistice Day, Veterans Day is observed annually on November 11.

The history of Veterans Day dates to the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when a truce, or an armistice, between Germany and the Allied Nations came into effect, bringing an end to World War I. On November 11, 1919, Armistice Day was proclaimed by President Wilson and commemorated United States’ veterans who served in World War I for the first time. In 1926, the United States Congress officially recognized November 11 as the end of World War I and declared that day as the anniversary of the armistice.

The American effort during World War II saw the greatest mobilization of the United States Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force in the nation’s history (more than 16 million people); some 5.7 million more served in the Korean War. In 1954, after lobbying efforts by veterans’ service organizations, the 83rd U.S. Congress amended the 1938 act that made Armistice Day a holiday, striking the word “Armistice” in favor of “Veterans”. President Eisenhower signed the legislation on June 1, 1954. From then on Armistice Day officially became known as Veterans’ Day and therefore, became a holiday honoring American veterans of all wars.

The next chapter in the story of Veterans Day unfolded in 1968, when Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which sought to ensure 3-day weekends for federal employees. This idea was to encourage tourism and travel by celebrating 4 national holidays (Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day) on Mondays. The observation of Veterans Day was set as the 4th Monday in October. The first Veterans Day under the new law was Monday, October 25, 1971; confusion ensued, as many states disapproved of this change, and continued to observe the holiday on its original day.

In 1975, after it became evident that the actual date of Veterans Day carried historical and patriotic significance to many Americans, President Ford signed a new law returning the observation of Veterans Day to November 11th beginning in 1978. If November 11 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the federal government observes the holiday on the previous Friday or following Monday, respectively.

Traditionally, Veterans Day is viewed as a time of honor and remembrance. Annually, an official wreath-laying ceremony is held each Veterans Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, while parades, church services, and other celebrations are held throughout the United States.

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

The History of Labor Day

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Celebrated on the first Monday of every September, Labor Day honors the contributions and achievements of the American worker. Becoming a federal holiday in 1894, Labor Day originated during one of American labor history’s most dismal chapters.

At the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States during the late 1800s, the average American worked 12-hour days, 7-days a week. And this was just to manage a basic living. Also, and despite restrictions in some states, children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills, factories, and mines earning a fraction of their adult counterparts’ wages. Workers of all ages, the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities, and breaks.

As manufacturing work replaced agriculture as the main source of American employment, labor unions grew more prominent and vocal. They began organizing strikes and rallies to protest poor conditions and pressed employers to renegotiate hours and pay. In New York City on September 5, 1882, 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

Many of these events turned violent during this period, including the infamous Haymarket Riot of 1886, when several Chicago policemen and workers were killed. Then on May 11, 1894, employees of the Pullman Palace Car Company in Chicago went on strike to protest wage cuts and the firing of union representatives. Two months later, the American Railroad Union led by Eugene V. Debs, called for a boycott of all Pullman railway cars, crippling railroad traffic nationwide. To break the strike, the federal government dispatched troops to Chicago, unleashing a wave of riots that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen workers. These events, among many others, brought workers’ rights squarely into the public’s view.

The idea of a “workingmen’s holiday,” celebrated on the first Monday in September, caught on in other industrial centers across the country, and many states passed legislation recognizing it. Congress, however, would not legalize the holiday until 12 years later after the massive unrest involving the Pullman Palace Car Company. In an attempt to repair ties with the American workers, Congress passed an act making Labor Day a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

More than a century later, the true founder of Labor Day has yet to be identified. While many credit Peter J. McGuire, who co-founded the American Federation of Labor, others have suggested that Matthew Maguire, a secretary of the Central Labor Union, first proposed the holiday.

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll-free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

Memorial Day

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On Memorial Day we honor the men and women who have died while serving in the U.S. military. This day is observed by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings, and participating in parades. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

By the time the American Civil War had ended in the spring of 1865, more lives had been claimed than in any other conflict is U.S. history. This required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, various towns and cities had begun holding springtime tributes to these countless fallen soldiers by decorating their graves with flowers and reciting prayers.

While it is unclear where this tradition had originated, what with numerous different communities independently initiating the memorial gatherings, Waterloo, New York was declared the official birthplace of Memorial Day by the federal government in 1966. Waterloo –  which first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866 –  was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. General Logan chose May 30th and called it Decoration Day. The date was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular Civil War battle.

On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, where 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there. Many Northern states held similar commemorative events and by 1890, each one had made Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states continued to honor their dead on separate days until after World War I.

Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually became to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. However during World War I, the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict. The holiday grew to commemorate all American military personnel who died in any war.

For decades, Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30th, the date General Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May, in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. This change, that went into effect in 1971, also declared Memorial Day as a federal holiday.

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

Patriotic Decorations for Your Summer Events

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Now that summer is finally around the corner, it is a great time to start thinking about all those BBQ’s, picnics, parades, and especially Memorial Day, Flag Day and Fourth of July events you’ll be attending. United States Flag Store has a great assortment of Patriotic Decorations for all your summertime gatherings.

For parades or tabletop centerpieces, our stick flags are second to none. Available with ball tips, spear tips or no tips, our flags are available in 4 inch x 6 inch , 8 inch x 12 inch and 12 inch x 18 inch sizes.

Our most popular patriotic decoration is, without a doubt, the pleated fans. Available in different sizes and fabrics, there are fans available from Valley Forge, Annin and our own Super Tough brand.

You can proudly display your patriotic banner flags all summer. These flags are durable and gorgeous to look at. United States flag store also carries wall mount flag poles for the banner flags.

United States Flag Store is here to answer all your questions. Feel free to give us a toll free call at 1-877-734-2458 or email us at support@onlinestores.com.

Greece & Brazil

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With the Olympics coming up, there are two very important flags you will see for two weeks: The flags from Greece and Brazil. This is because Greece is where the Olympic movement was born wgr46hf_-00_greece-flag-4-x-6-inchand Brazil is where the 2016 edition of the Olympics are held.

The current version of the Greek flag has nine horizontal stripes, blue and white. On the left hand corner is a blue square and a white cross. This flag was adopted on December 22, 1978. Earlier versions were adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus on January 13, 1822. The nine stripes are believed to represent the symbols in the Greek battle cry, “Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος” (Eleutheria H Thanatos), which translates to “Freedom or Death”, which was said during the Hellenic Revolution against the Ottoman Empire. This flag is referred to as the “Κυανόλευκη” (Kyanólefki) or “blue-white” in Greece. The white symbolizes clouds in the sky, waves in the sea, and perpetual progress.

Trivia: Greek Flag Day is October 27.

The most recent Olympics held in Greece was in 2004 in Athens, the same city where the very first Olympics were held in 1896.

 

Brazil adopted its flag on November 19, 1889 but was updated on May 11, 1992. Brazil’s flag is green with a yellow rhombus with a dark blue circle in the middle with 27 stars (originally 21 stars) wbr46hf_-00_brazil-flag-4-x-6-inch-stick-flagand a white band, reading “Ordem e Progresso”, meaning Order and Progress, the national motto in green letters. The stars in the blue circle symbolize a starry sky but the stars also represent the country’s federated units, every star a single state, including the federal state.

The Brazilian flag was designed by Raimundo Texeira Mendes along with Miguel Lemos, Manuel Pereira Reis, and Décio Villares at the request of the then provisional president, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca. This was after Brazil had become a republic after being a constitutional monarchy.

Fact: The 2016 Olympics is the first to be held in South America.

Soccer: Brazil has won the most World Cups in soccer, with five wins. Brazil has many superstars including Pelé, who helped in the bid to win Brazil the right to host the Olympics.ac

 

-CD