Pledge of Allegiance Day has been celebrated on December 28 since it was formally recognized by Congress in 1945. | Paul Weaver on Unsplash
Pledge of Allegiance Day has been celebrated on December 28 since it was formally recognized by Congress in 1945. | Paul Weaver on Unsplash
Since 1945, Dec. 28 has been recognized as Pledge of Allegiance Day after Congress voted to formally celebrate the pledge and the U.S. flag.
According to nationaldaycalendar.com, Francis Bellamy is given credit for writing the Pledge of Allegiance, which was actually published anonymously in 1892 in the magazine The Youth’s Companion.
Rep. Jackie Haas took to Facebook to mark the occasion on Dec. 28.
“Today is Pledge of Allegiance Day, commemorating the official adoption of the pledge into the United States Flag Code!” Haas said on Facebook.
The Pledge of Allegiance was written to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. According to nationaldaycalendar.com, in 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference put the pledge into legislation.
There have been a few minor changes to the pledge, but it has remained mostly the same. On Flag Day in 1954, the words “under God” were added as there were anti-communist notions throughout the country during the Cold War.
While some states have their own pledges of allegiance, the state of Illinois does not. The United States Flag Code outlines how to properly treat the flag, such as not allowing it to touch the ground.
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