June is another one of those summer months soft on holidays. Perhaps the dearth of holidays during the summer is because so many celebrants are on the road to vacation. While certain holidays certainly become reasons in themselves to hit the road, it probably should be expected that there really doesn't need to be many special days of observance to justify traveling during the height of vacation season.

Flag Day: June 14
June 14 was set aside as Flag Day because it commemorates that day as the date on which the flag was officially adopted by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. Flag Day was first observed 100 years after that monumental decision, although it would not be until 1949 that President Truman signed the bill into law authorizing Flag Day as an official day of observance.

As for the actual traditions of observing Flag Day, it essentially comes down to flying the Stars and Stripes. Until recent decades, Flag Day would be quite obvious to anyone walking down any street in America in the middle of June. In addition to flags waving in the wind high atop flag poles at government offices, banks and schools, nearly every house in the country would display a flag from its roof or at least a miniature flag on a wooden stick poking into the front yard.

Even though Flag Day celebrations have been on the wane, Flag Day is still observed on a municipal level in many cities, with well-attended parades and ceremonies. The most-celebrated Flag Day parade takes place in Troy, NY, and it is often attended by more than 50,000 residents and tourists.

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