July 31 – La Hae Hawaii

July 31, 2022

Posted on July 31, 2022

This is an update of my post published on July 31, 2011:

Today is Hawaiian Flag Day. The flag is unexpected, at least to me—it doesn’t seem to catch the island flavor or the Pacific/Asian ancestry of many Hawaiians—and it features a British “Union Jack” in one corner!

But in 1816 this flag was commissioned by King Kamehameha the Great to show Hawaii’s close ties with Great Britain. The eight red-white-and-blue stripes stand for Hawaii’s eight major islands.

This flag represented Hawaii as the flag of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as the Republic of Hawaii, and as the territory of Hawaii. Now it represents the State of Hawaii.

Celebrate Hawaii!

Here are some activities and coloring pages.
The A to Z Kids Stuff website has lots of links to explore.

Eight major islands?

I bet most folks cannot name more than four to six Hawaiian islands! Without looking it up, I can think of six:

Oahu – The capital city of Honolulu is located on this island

Diamond Head mountain

Maui – Famous for the dormant volcano Haleakala and the road to Hana

Above, clouds fill Haleakala’s crater.
Below, the road to Hana is dotted with falls and pools.

Kawai – Famous for the Napali Coast with its dramatic cliffs

The Big Island – Famous for the active volcanos and destructive/constructive lava flows

Lava is destructive when it covers and burns
existing forests, homes, and roads.
Lava is also constructive, too; the Hawaiian
islands are, after all, entirely made up of
cooled lava, and fresh new lava makes
them larger. A new island is being created,
even as we speak, about 18 miles away
from the Big Island. It is still a long time
in the making; the top of that newest
island is still about 3,000 feed underwater,
and scientists think it will take around 50,000
years for the island to arise from the sea!