Why is the flag halfway down today
Half Mast and Half Staff (by the Colonial Flag Foundation)
the custom of placing the flag at
half-staff for half mast actually began
at sea and it's such an old tradition
that it's really hard to determine
exactly how it began
but some indications are that many many
centuries ago when someone died aboard
ship they kind of let all of the lines
go a little bit loose all of the rigging
on the ship the sails were not placed
the way they should be even the masks
and the yardarms were a little bit of
skew and the flag was allowed to come
down partway from from where normally
flew and all of this together said hey
I'm morning I'm not feeling shipshape
today I'm not going forward I'm here
because I'm sad and so that continued
over the years so the tradition at sea
was called half-mast because that's
where the flag was displayed and it was
brought halfway down when the flag flew
at full staff or full mast it was up and
the ship was under way with the sails
full of the wind and all was well with
the world
if a ship had to be surrendered in
battle yes ensign was pulled all the way
down its flag and so that was defeat
mourning was kind of halfway in the
middle to say you know I'm I'm not
feeling good I'm sad I'm in mourning so
when this tradition came up shore the
flag was no longer placed on a mast but
rather on a flagpole or Flagstaff and so
the term changed and meaning to be
described as half-staff
so at sea its half-mast on land it's
half-staff according to the flag code
there are specific periods of time which
designated as morning with the flag at
half-staff for various federal officials
for instance say President of the United
States or former president it's 30 days
for some other individual it's from
death when they're buried the day of the
funeral governors have also been given
that authority to declare a period of
half-staff so when there is someone who
has died who is not on the list that
it's automatic then the president issues
presidential proclamation stating who
has died and and how why they're being
honored and what the period will be that
the flag is flown at half-staff a
governor can also do that there have
been instances where say a student at a
local high school dies and I don't think
it's inappropriate on the day of their
funeral if the cortege is passing by the
school to have the school's flag at
half-staff but just for that brief
period but normally speaking we fly the
flag at half-staff to show the entire
nation is mourning not just one
individual or one family when you place
a flag at half-staff it's important if
you're raising the flag at that time you
raise it all the way to the top of the
flagpole and then lower it to the
halfway point or to half-staff
and the reason you do that the top of
the Flagstaff is considered the point of
salute so you raise the flag to the top
of the pole to honor the flag and to
salute it and then bring it to
half-staff to show the morning at the
end when you're bringing the flag down
again you raised it all the way to the
top to salute the flag
and honor the flag and then it is
lowered
