The celebration started in the early morning with a parade along the principal streets of Monrovia by several schools led by the Williams V.S. Tubman High School.

With the national ensign flown from public and private buildings as well as homes, thousands filled the sidewalks and stood on balconies as the students marched towards a grand stand erected before the Centennial Memorial Pavilion where President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf stood and received the pass-in-review salutes from
the schools.

Held Under the theme: "Patriotism and Self-discipline, the way forward for national transformation," the indoor ceremony was addressed by former Information Minister Rev. Emmanuel Bowier.

The Flag of Liberia consists of eleven horizontal stripes - six red and five white - with a blue field in the upper left corner of rectangular form, with a single white star in the center of the blue field.
The eleven stripes represent the eleven signers of the Declaration of Independence, while the blue field depicts Liberia as the then only independent state on the Continent of Africa.

The color red symbolizes the blood of those who died in the struggle for independence; the white indicates the purity of mind and eloquence of all forbearers towards each other; and the blue represents the dark Continent of Africa as it was then depicted.

Adopted on July 26, 1847, the National Flag of Liberia was designed and produced by a committee of ladies, led by Mrs. Susannah Lewis, who were talented and visionary citizens of the Republic at the time.
An in-door program was held at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion with former Information Minister Rev. Emmanuel Z. Bowier serving as National Flag Day orator.
LINA WSG/TSS/PTK