The flag should be displayed on all days when the weather permits and especially on the following holidays:
New Year's Day -- January 1
Martin Luther King Holiday -- third Monday in January (birthday date January 16)
Inauguration Day -- January 20
President's Day -- third Monday in February (Lincoln's birthday February 12, Washington's birthday February 22)
Memorial Day -- last Monday in May, at half mast until noon (traditional date May 30)
Flag Day -- June 14
Independence Day -- July 4
Labor Day -- first Monday in September
Citizenship Day -- September 17
Columbus Day Holiday -- third Monday in October (traditional date October 12)
Veteran's Day -- November 11
Thanksgiving Day -- fourth Thursday in November
Christmas Day -- December 25
The flag should also be displayed on those days so proclaimed by the President of the United States as well as on state holidays.
The flag should be displayed daily, weather permitting, on or near the main administration building of every public institution.
The flag should be displayed in or near every public polling place on Election Days.
The flag should be displayed during school days in or near every school building.
Prior to the 1920s, it was tradition that dictated an informal set of procedures for the proper display of the flag. Our Armed Forces had their own set of rules, but no uniform code had ever been developed for civilian use. In 1905, Congress passed a law forbidding the use of the flag as a trademark. And subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court had upheld penalties for the desecration of the flag. But there was no broad set of rules for the display of the flag. Finally, in 1923, a National Flag Conference was held in Washington, D.C., and second such meeting took place the following year. These two conferences produced a national code setting forth the correct manner of displaying and respecting the flag of the United States. In 1942, this code was adopted by a joint resolution of Congress and, with minor amendments, is in effect today.