President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has by Proclamation declared Sunday, August 24, 2014 as a National Flag Day and is to be celebrated throughout the Republic as a National Holiday.

According to the Proclamation, the official observance will take place on Monday, August 25, 2014 since the day falls on Sunday.  The release further calls on all citizens and foreign residents within the territorial borders of Liberia to give prominence to the observance throughout the nation by flying the national flag from each dwelling and public building.

The Proclamation further orders that government offices, public and business houses be closed in reference to the observance.

The observance is in consonance with an Act approved by the National Legislature of the Republic of Liberia declaring the 24^th day of August of each year as a National Flag Day, to be celebrated as a National Holiday in the Republic.

The release indicates that it is befitting that the day is commemorated annually by all citizens of Liberia in testimony of their allegiance and loyalty to the national ensign, the embodiment of the country’s national pride and patriotism.

The National Ensign is visible evidence of the nation‘s sovereignty and independence as a political entity within the comity of nations and a symbol of pride and dignity.

The making of the national flag of the Republic was a historic event of great significance for Liberia as Africa’s pacesetters in the struggle for self-determination and inspiration to future African states.

The  blue field in the upper left corner of the rectangular form with a single white star in the center of the blue field depicts Liberia as the then only independent state on the continent of Africa; while the  red  color symbolizes the blood of those who died in the struggle for independence .

In the Ensign, the white color indicates the purity of mind and clearness of all the country’s forebears toward each other; and the blue color for the dark continent of Africa as it was then depicted, the release discloses.

The Liberian flag consists of six red stripes and five alternation white stripes, totaling eleven stripes with each representing one of the eleven signers of the Declaration of Independence.