The British flag is often called the “Union Jack”
This is in fact a nautical term as a “jack” is a ship’s flag to show the ship’s nationality.
The British flag is the union of three flags in one, since it represents the crosses of the patron saints of England, Scotland and Ireland.
The American
flag is usually called the “Stars and Stripes”
When the first thirteen colonies proclaimed
their independence, they needed an emblem of their union. Congress decided that
the flag of the United
States would have thirteen alternative red
and white stripes and a constellation of thirteen white stars on a blue
background.
Every time a
new state joined the Union, a new star was
added on to the blue sky. Today, when you look at the American flag, you can
still count the thirteen red and white stripes which represent the original
thirteen states but you have fifty stars representing the fifty states
belonging to the Union today. So the stripes
represent the past and the stars represent the present.
Teaching & Learning is going on a break for a couple of months.
