Kendall County Times

Illinois State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) took time out of the week between the Christmas holiday and New Years to pay tribute to the day honoring our commitment to staying loyal to our country.

"Happy Pledge of Allegiance Day," Rezin wrote in a Facebook post that shared a graphic that detailed the history of Pledge of Allegiance Day, since the pledge was officially recognized by Congress on Dec. 28, 1850.

In 1945 the U.S. Congress formally recognized the day that honored the promise of loyalty to our nation's flag. According to National Day Calendar, Francis Bellamy is credited with writing The Pledge, but it was first published anonymously in 1892 in a magazine called The Youth's Comparison.

The United States Flag Code has outlined proper treatment of the nation's flag, which includes: not allowing it to touch the ground, not displaying it with the union side down, never being used as covering for a ceiling, and when it becomes unfit for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified way such as burning it. According to the Legal Information Institute, the code also prohibits the flag from being used for advertising purposes, forbids any words or other designs from being placed upon it, stipulated it can't be used to hold or carry anything, and forbids any part of the flag from being used as a costume or athletic uniform, with the exception that a patch can be used on military or emergency responders and a lapel flag pin can be worn on the left lapel near the heart. 

Some states do have their own pledges of allegiance, but Illinois does not, Wide Open Country reported.