Showing respect and devotion to our nation’s flag has become a part of our everyday lives, whether we are reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the national anthem or simply hanging the flag outside of our offices and homes.

Did you know that Federal law stipulates many aspects of flag etiquette? The section of law dealing with American Flag etiquette is generally referred to as the Flag Code.

Here are some general guidelines for proper use of the American Flag:

• The flag should be flown in fair weather, unless designed for inclement weather.
• The flag should never be used for receiving, holding, carrying or delivering anything!
• When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.
• The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speaker’s desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general. Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes. The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.
• The flag code states that the flag should not touch anything beneath it, including the ground. This is stated to indicate that care should be exercised in the handling of the flag, to protect it from becoming soiled or damaged.
• When flown vertically on a pole, the stars and blue field, or “union”, is at the top and at the end of the pole.
• The custom is to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on flagstaffs in the open, but it may be displayed at night upon special occasions to produce a patriotic effect.
• No other flag should be placed above the flag of the United States or, if on the same level, to its right.
• The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose, nor embroidered on cushions or handkerchiefs, printed on paper napkins or boxes, nor used as any portion of a costume.

For more information on Flag Etiquette, visit http://www.legion.org/flag/code.