President Sirleaf Declares August 24, National Flag Day : To Be Observed as A National Holiday
The President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has by Proclamation, declared Monday, August 24, 2015 as “National Flag Day,” and is to be observed throughout the Republic as a National Holiday.
The Proclamation is in consonant with an Act of National Legislature of the Republic of Liberia, approved on October 25, 1915, which declared the 24th day of August each year as aNational Flag Day to be observed as a nationalholiday, throughout the Republic of Liberia.
The Proclamation states that It is important and befitting that the Day is commemorated annually by all citizens of the Republic in testimony of their allegiance and loyalty to the national ensign, the embodiment of the country’s existence as a sovereign entity and to encourage national pride and Patriotism.
The Proclamation urges citizens and foreign residents within the borders of Liberia to give prominence to the observance by flying the National Flag from each dwelling and Public Building.
The Proclamation orders and directs the Ministry of Education and all other government agencies concerned to execute appropriate programs befitting the occasion.
The Proclamation also orders all government offices, public and business houses closed during the observance.
“The national flag was designed and undertaken by a committee of ladies led by Mrs. Susannah Lewis and all talented and visionary citizens of the Republic at the time”, the Proclamation declares.
The Proclamation stressed that the making of the flag of the Republic was a historic event of great significance for Liberia as Africa’s pacesetter in the struggle for self determination and inspiration to future African states.
The release stated that the national ensign of Liberia is visible evidence of the country’s sovereignty and independence as a political entity within the comity of nations and a symbol of pride and dignity.
“The flag consists of six red stripes and five alternating white stripes totaling eleven stripes with each representing one of the eleven Signers of The Declaration of Independence of Liberia, and the blue field in the upper left corner of a rectangular form with a single while star in the center of the blue field depicting Liberia as the then only independent state on the continent of Africa while the color red symbolizes the blood of those who died in the struggle for independence. The color while indicates the Purity of mind and clearness of all its forebears toward each other and the blue for the dark continent of Africa as it was then depicted.”