How To Fold An American Flag
Don't
get sloppy with Old Glory!
Flags
are more than scraps of colorful cloth: they're supposed to mean something--to symbolize the country
itself. Think what you will about such sentiment, but many a nation takes its
symbolism seriously. The United States is no exception: the simple act of
folding the national flag requires a unique ritual with its own rules and
regulations. If the end result isn't a neat triangle (supposedly reminiscent of
our forefathers' tricorner hats), you've done it wrong.
Flag-folding
does take some practice, but the task isn't exactly rocket science. As long as
you've got an awareness of flag etiquette (a few simple rules) and a friend to
help you out, mastering the art of getting the flag in that neat little triangle
will have you looking like the best girl scout or marine in town. (It's also an
impressive trick to flaunt come Fourth of July or Veteran's Day.) This 2torial
shows you how.
Know
your flag! When the flag was first adopted in 1777, the U.S. Continental
Congress justified the flag's attributes this way: "White signifies Purity and
Innocence; Red, Hardiness and Valor; Blue signifies Vigilance, Perseverance and
Justice," with the stars forming "a new constellation."
With
a description like that, it's no wonder that handling a simple cloth of red,
white and blue has such complicated procedures (think of the ambivalent
reactions the flag itself inspires). So it's a good idea to know some of the
terminology associated with the folding procedure:
Colors:
a
hueful name for the flag itself
Color
guards:
the folks who raise, lower and safeguard (and usually fold) the flag in a
flag-raising ceremony
Halyard:
the rope used to raise and lower the flag
Union:
the upper inner corner of the flag. For our purposes, it's the field of blue
covered by 50 white stars.
The
actual hoisting, lowering and flying of the American flag is another ball of
yarn so complex the flag's uses and abuses are outlined in Title 4, United
States Code, chapter 1, sections 1 and 2, and Executive Order 10834. But most of
the time we just want to fold the darn thing correctly, so we'll leave the super
official stuff up to the super officials.
Get
ready with your partner
Grab
your partner and your flag. Yes, you'll need a partner if you're going to do
this right. Stand facing your partner while you hold two corners of the flag and
he or she holds the other two at about waist level. The flag should be parallel
to the ground, and the sides facing both of you should be the shorter ones.
Careful--it's
taboo to let the flag touch the ground. If you're feeling a bit uncoordinated,
or you know your partner is a grade-A klutz, you may want to practice with a
flat sheet or blanket first.
Fold
widthwise twice
Raise
the side of the flag that normally hangs on the bottom, the side entirely
covered by stripes, over the side with the "union" on it. Grab the new corner
you have made along the crease so that again the flag is parallel to the ground,
all-stripe side up.
Repeat
this widthwise fold so that the union is now on either side, half facing the
ground and half facing the sky.
Corner
your flag
Now
that you're holding your twice-folded flag, notice that of the new rectangle
shape you have made, one long side is "open," and one is "closed." The open side
consists of the original perimeter of the flag--you can still separate the folds
into individual layers of material. The crease on the other side encloses the
layers of fabric under it, so it's "closed."
Now
fold the flag in a series of triangles. To do it scrupulously correct, you've
got to start the folding at a specific point. Start at the striped end of your
rectangle. Take the corner of the closed side and bring it diagonally over to
the open side, forming a triangular flap.
Continue
cornering
You've
created a most unharmonious shape at this point: a long, rectangular shape with
a corner lopped off. Take the pointy corner and fold it down, over the other
triangular fold, to create a straight edge once again. Now repeat this folding
process, switching corners with each fold, until just a blue square of the union
is peeking out from the triangular fold.
Only
one person does this triangular folding; your partner ceremoniously and
patiently holds the other end (ensuring that it doesn't touch the floor!).
Master
the Final Fold and Tuck
All
you've got left is the final fold--the tricky turn that some argue is at the
crux of the whole operation. Instead of you folding the thick triangle of folded
flag fabric over the last remaining blue square, your partner--who has waited
for you so patiently--finally gets to do some creasing. The person on the union
end of the flag will take the corner on the open leg and fold it down along the
edge of the other leg to form a triangle. He or she then tucks the remaining
blue tab under the folds of the thick triangle until the flag is a neat triangle
and can't easily unravel.
Store
the flag in a safe place, and when you want to raise it or use it again, unfold
it using these steps in the opposite direction. Now, sit back and enjoy the
fireworks!
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