If you have ever stood at a military funeral, you have seen it: the honor guard folding the flag with slow, deliberate care, turning a wide expanse of stars and stripes into a tight triangle of blue. Thirteen folds, each one exact. Like nearly everything about the flag, the ritual carries meaning.
How the flag is folded
The fold begins with the flag held waist-high and parallel to the ground. It is folded in half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again, so the blue field of stars faces outward along the bottom.
Then the triangular folds begin. Starting at the striped end, a handler makes a taut triangular fold and continues folding triangle over triangle, working toward the blue field. When the last fold is made, the stripes have disappeared entirely and only the blue field and its stars remain, formed into a triangle that resembles the cocked hats worn by soldiers of the Continental Army.
Done correctly, it takes 13 folds to complete, and nothing should remain but that field of stars.
The meaning of the folds
Beyond the mechanics, a cherished tradition assigns a meaning to each of the 13 folds. It is important to know that this interpretation is a ceremonial custom rather than a part of the official U.S. Flag Code, and different honor guards recite slightly different versions. Still, the recitation is deeply meaningful to the families who hear it, and it speaks to the values the flag represents.
In the most widely shared version, the folds honor, in turn:
- Life
- The belief in eternal life
- The veteran being laid to rest, and those who gave their lives in service
- Our trust in something greater than ourselves in times of trouble
- A tribute to the country itself
- Where our hearts lie, as we pledge allegiance to the flag
- A tribute to the armed forces
- Those who have passed, and the mothers who hold them in memory
- Womanhood, and the faith and devotion that has shaped the nation's character
- Fathers, who have given their sons and daughters in defense of the country
- The lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, in the Jewish tradition
- Eternity, in the Christian tradition
- The final fold, with the stars facing upward, recalling the nation's motto, "In God We Trust"
A symbol handed from one set of hands to another
When the folding is finished, the triangle of blue and stars is presented to the next of kin with words of thanks for the loved one's service. It is one of the most solemn moments in American life, a symbol passed quite literally from one set of hands to another.
Whether or not every honor guard recites the same meanings, the message of the ritual is constant. The flag that draped the casket of someone who served does not simply get put away. It is folded with reverence, named with gratitude, and entrusted to those who loved them most.