Re: The American flag
There's no irony here, RS.
A flag retirement ceremony, typically conducted by the Boy Scouts of America or a veterans group, is a a somber, dignified, ceremony that often includes a presentation of the color guard, a reading of the history of the flag, and singing the national anthem. Flags are collected through the year, folded, stored, and burned all at once.
If done by the scouts, it includes the boys in uniform, properly saluting the flag while the flags are folded, placed into the receptacle and burned. The ashes are then respectfully buried.