The Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes

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.