Hawaiian Flag Day Commemorated at Haleakalā National Park

Hawaii flag. Photo by Wendy Osher.

By Maui Now Staff

Haleakalā National Park commemorates Lā Hae Hawai‘i or Hawaiian Flag Day today.

Park officials say the event is the first national holiday in Hawaiʻi and was first celebrated on July 31, 1843, when the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was restored by Great Britain.

At the time, King Kamehameha III, Kauikeaouli, proclaimed “Ua mau ke ea o ka ‘āina i ka pono” (“the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness”). The famous proclamation later became Hawaii’s state motto.

Nearly 150 years later on July 26, 1990, then governor John Waiheʻe signed a proclamation declaring each July 31st Hawaiian Flag Day.

The event will also be celebrated simultaneously at four national parks on on Hawaiʻi Island.

The event itself is free, but entrance fees apply at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, and Haleakalā National Park.

Events at Haleakalā include a short presentation at 10 a.m. followed by a question and answer session led by guest speaker Kalani Pea, and a special moment to honor the Hawaiian flag at noon.