Heather Verrill, age 12, of Marquette, Mich., for his question:

WHEN WAS OUR FIRST FLAG DAY?

On June 14 in 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States. Flag Day is not now an official national holiday, but the President proclaims a public Flag Day observance every year.

The first official Flag Day was observed in 1877 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the selection of the flag. Congress requested all public buildings to fly the flag on June 14 of that year.

In 1885, a schoolteacher in Waubeka, Wis., named Bernard Cigrand, started a lifetime fight to establish Flag Day as an annual national celebration. In 1897 the governor of New York proclaimed a Flag Day celebration for the first time as an annual event in that state.

President Woodrow Wilson established Flag Day as an annual national celebration in his proclamation issued on May 30, 1916.

Today on Flag Day many people in the United States display the flag on their homes, businesses and public buildings. Some schools honor the flag with special programs that may feature discussions of the flag's origin and meaning.

Many patriotic organizations hold parades and other Flag Day celebrations around the nation.