# Significance of your country's flag



## irisheyes0583

Hi, I would love to know the symbolism behind your national flag. 

The US flag has the following significance: The 50 stars in the upper left-hand corner represent the 50 states. The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies. There is no official reason why the colors are red, white, & blue, but some say that white means purity and innocence, red means bravery, and blue means vigilance, perseverance, and justice. Our flag's nickname is "Old Glory", but we usually just refer to it as "The American Flag".


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## Fernando

Spain's flag (one big yellow stripe between two red stripes) is a kind of 'design flag', which was first displayed in the XVII century by the Navy and then adapted for civil use. It is based, I think, in Crown of Aragon's flag (four red bars on yellow).

Spanish current shield is based in Catholic Kings', composed of four quarters fo the four medieval kingdoms composing Spain (Castille, Leon, Aragon crown -Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia- and Navarre) plus a small granade fruit (for Granada kingdom) and three 'lys' flowers (for Borbón royal family).


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## Vanda

Brazilian flag:

The flag colors, green and yellow, are associated to the royal house of Bragança (Portugal) from which_ D Pedro I_ was a member and to the Habsburg's royal house from which the empress _D Leopoldina_ was a
member. 
During dictatorship we were taught at school that the colors represented
our forests (for green) - natural resources- and our mineral resources (for yellow) - gold. Today this is still the way that is popularly known.
The inscription _Order and Progress_ inside the white stripis amotto attributed to the French positivist August Comte.
In the blue circle there are stars representing , each one, all the states 
of the country . The astronomic position of the Acrux and Gacrux stars 
from Cruzeiro do Sul (Southern Cross) constellation features the position they were observed on an eclipse over Rio de Janeiro in the morning of the republic proclamation on November 15, 1889, and that of the night on May 13, 1888 when Princess Isabel declared the slaves freeded.


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## Jana337

The red-blue-white Czech flag is inspired by the Dutch one, but the influence came via Russia. OK, some chronology :

Peter the  Great, Tsar of Russia and a great admirer of the Dutch shipbuilding and naval prowess, visited the Netherlands in the 17th century to observe the its burgeoning shipping industry. Upon return to Russia he built up his own shipping fleet and designed a
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​ flag in honor of the  Netherlands, but he changed the ordering from 
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​ That flag eventually became the state flag of Russia (after 1917 it was replaced by the infamous hammer and sickle in a red field, but in the 1990s, the pre-revolutionary flag was reinstated).

In the 19th century, the Pan-Slavic idea became hugely popular in most (if not all) Slavic countries of Central and Eastern Europe, then under Prussian, Austrian or Hungarian control. However ironic it might sound with the advantage of hindsight, Russia was believed to be a guarantor of liberty for small Slavic nations. Anyway, at the Pan-Slav convention held in Praha in 1848, a Pan-Slavic flag was approved. It consisted of three stripes of the same colors, but, for a reason unknown to me, in yet another order:
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​ The new political set-up after the World War I, outlined in the Versailles Treaty and other documents, gave birth to independent Slavic countries. Most of them adopted the Pan-Slavic design, i.e. three vertical stripes in blue, white and red. Here's a nice overview.The Czechoslovak flag was a bit more innovative: It consisted of a white and red stripe with a blue wedge coming from the left. 

Before Czechoslovakia split in 1993, the federal parliament had agreed that neither successor state would use the common symbols, but the Czech parliamentary assembly chose to ignore the decision, which provoked some resentment in Slovakia, but the issue soon sank into oblivion (after all, it was them who filed for divorce ).  

Jana

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## santi

hi all  

     well the Colombian flag is represented by three colors they are yellow which stands for all the (gold)riches that lie within our country, blue stands for the two oceans that sorround us (Pacific and Atlantic), and red stand for all the blood spilled by our ancestors to free our country.hope you enjoy ohhhh and to whomever asks about the Ecuatorian and Venezuelian flags I'll remind ya'll that in the begining these three wereone nation that's the reason why they have the same colors.... peace and love to all  


this is


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## LV4-26

The French flag is blue-white-red
Before the French Revolution the flag was the King's flag : it was all white with a lily flower on it.
After (or was it during ?) the French Revolution, they kept the white to symbolize monarchy, added the blue and the red which were the colours of the city of Paris and they placed them on either side of the King's colour.


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## Outsider

The Portuguese flag.

The website in the link above explains the symbology of the flag in great detail, but, since it's in Portuguese, I've tried to make a little summary:

The white colour (in the shield) is "a brotherly colour, a colour of simplicity, harmony, and peace". The red colour stands for "combatiness, virility, warmth, and joy". The green colour stands for hope.

The armillary sphere symbolizes the Portuguese discoveries. The shield essentially symbolizes the foundation of Portugal, and the red strip with the castles around the shield symbolizes "national integrity and independence".


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## Brioche

Jana337 said:
			
		

> The red-blue-white Czech flag is inspired by the Dutch one, but the influence came via Russia. OK, some chronology :
> 
> Jana


 
Some say the Dutch flag was the inspiration for the French tricolore - it's a Dutch flag "on its side."

The Belgian flag is based on the French tricolore.

The Irish Tricolour flag: Green/White/Orange, with green for Catholics, orange for Protestants and white for peace between them, is also inspired by the French flag and the flag of Newfoundland.


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## jorge_val_ribera

santi said:
			
		

> well the Colombian flag is represented by three colors they are yellow which stands for all the (gold)riches that lie within our country, (..)and red stand for all the blood spilled by our ancestors to free our country.


 
Wow, the Bolivian flag has almost the same simbolism! But there's one color which is different:

RED represents the blood spilled by the brave men who fought for the liberty of our country.
YELLOW represents the riches in our country (minerals, etc.).
GREEN represents the nature in our country.

Bye!


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## Mita

* See this about the Chilean flag. 



> The flag of Chile consists of two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center representing a guide to progress and honor; blue symbolizes the sky,* white* is for the snow-covered Andes, and red stands for the blood spilled to achieve independence.


 
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Regards,


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## asm

The Mexican flag has three colors, green, white and red. In the white part there is an eagle, eating a snake while it stands on a cactus (nopal). This eagle is our national emblem and comes from the tradition that Aztecs should stop they nomadic journey if they saw an eagle, on top of a cactus, eating a snake (experts say that's almost impossible for an eagle to eat the snake under those circumstances, but we are talking about traditions and myths).
The original flag was similar as the one we have now, the only change is the eagle; it looks like they took a new picture of the eagle, in the past it was the front, now the you see the eagle from one side. The colors had (for the first flag) the following meanings: green = independence, white = catholic church (religion), and red = union. 

After Juarez, the president who separated church and state, the colors changed their meanings: green = hope, white = purity, and red = blood (shed by our heroes) .


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				irisheyes0583 said:
			
		

> Hi, I would love to know the symbolism behind your national flag.
> 
> The US flag has the following significance: The 50 stars in the upper left-hand corner represent the 50 states. The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies. There is no official reason why the colors are red, white, & blue, but some say that white means purity and innocence, red means bravery, and blue means vigilance, perseverance, and justice. Our flag's nickname is "Old Glory", but we usually just refer to it as "The American Flag".


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## Roi Marphille

Well, the Catalan flag has a beautiful legend behind. Check here if you want. Some people say it is true but I don't think so!
It is said to be one of the oldest flags in the world. 

Colours are: yellow with four red stripes. It was the flag used by the Kingdom of Aragon. 
As a curiosity, few people know that the very first flag of Catalonia was the Sant Jordi' flag (Saint George's), which is the very same as England's nowadays. The reason is that Sant Jordi is also the patron here.
Salut, 

Roi


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## Mei

Roi Marphille said:
			
		

> Well, the Catalan flag has a beautiful legend behind. Check here if you want. Some people say it is true but I don't think so!
> It is said to be one of the oldest flags in the world.
> 
> Colours are: yellow with four red stripes. It was the flag used by the Kingdom of Aragon.
> As a curiosity, few people know that the very first flag of Catalonia was the Sant Jordi' flag (Saint George's), which is the very same as England's nowadays. The reason is that Sant Jordi is also the patron here.
> Salut,
> 
> Roi


 
I don't know if it's true, I wasn't there but I like to think that it's true...  

Salut!

Mei


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## kiro

Roi Marphille said:
			
		

> As a curiosity, few people know that the very first flag of Catalonia was the Sant Jordi' flag (Saint George's), which is the very same as England's nowadays. The reason is that Sant Jordi is also the patron here.
> Salut,
> Roi


You're right, Roi. I had always wondered why the St.George's Cross appeared on the FC Barcelona emblem, until I discovered that he was also the patron saint of Catalonia (as well as other places).

Apparently, St.George was a Christian martyr from the time of the Crusades, and the cross (red on a white background) was worn on the uniform of English soldiers during military expeditions to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims. It officially became the national flag of England around 1277 (<<this info from Wikipedia).

The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag, which is an amalgamation of the St.George's Cross (*England*, also nominally representing *Wales*), St.Andrew's Cross or "Saltire" (*Scotland*) and St.Patrick's Cross (*Ireland*).

A common misconception is that this is the "English" flag,
whereas it actually represents the whole union.


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## Roi Marphille

kiro said:
			
		

> The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag, which is an amalgamation of the St.George's Cross (*England*, also nominally representing *Wales*), St.Andrew's Cross or "Saltire" (*Scotland*) and St.Patrick's Cross (*Ireland*).
> 
> A common misconception is that this is the "English" flag,
> whereas it actually represents the whole union.


Exactly, what about this other curiosity few people realised..
Union Jack/Flag *is not* SYMMETRIC!
I noticed few years ago.


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## kiro

Roi Marphille said:
			
		

> Exactly, what about this other curiosity few people realised..
> Union Jack/Flag *is not* SYMMETRIC!
> I noticed few years ago.


Haha, yes!
I remember I had to draw it when I was in the Boy Scouts, and it was hell to get it right.


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## LV4-26

kiro said:
			
		

> and it was hell to get it right.


 I can understand that -------->
http://www.jdawiseman.com/papers/union-jack/union-jack.html


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## Laia

Mei said:
			
		

> I don't know if it's true, I wasn't there but I like to think that it's true...
> 
> Salut!
> 
> Mei


 
I agree with Mei  

Bona nit!


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## Brioche

kiro said:
			
		

> Apparently, St.George was a *Christian martyr from the time of the Crusades, *


 
St George traditionally died on 23 April 303, nearly 800 years before the Crusades.


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## kiro

Brioche said:
			
		

> St George traditionally died on 23 April 303, nearly 800 years before the Crusades.


Just goes to show you can't trust amateur encyclopedia compilers...


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## kiro

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> I can understand that -------->
> http://www.jdawiseman.com/papers/union-jack/union-jack.html


If only I'd had all that info back then, my flag wouldn't have looked so deformed.


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## hiwelcome

Les trois couleurs du drapeau français ont été créées officiellement, pour l'armée, par le décret du 27 juillet 1789..
The 3 colours of the French flag were officially created, for the army, by  decree, on July 27,1789.


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## Lancel0t

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I\ I /IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I=O=IIIIIXII ---------------------------
I/ I \IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
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Here is simple sketch of the Philippine Flag

Red symbolizes bravery
Blue Peace
White purity
Yellow splendid

3 Stars - 3 main islands (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao)
Sun with 8 rays - symbolizes the 8 major provinces that revolt agains the spaniards during the colonization


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## Gustavoang

santi said:
			
		

> hi all
> 
> well the Colombian flag is represented by three colors they are yellow which stands for all the (gold)riches that lie within our country, blue stands for the two oceans that sorround us (Pacific and Atlantic), and red stand for all the blood spilled by our ancestors to free our country.hope you enjoy ohhhh and to whomever asks about the Ecuatorian and Venezuelian flags I'll remind ya'll that in the begining these three wereone nation that's the reason why they have the same colors.... peace and love to all
> 
> 
> this is


Yes, just to confirm that these colors represents the same for the Venezuelan flag.

Definitely it's related to The Gran Colombia.

Regards.


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## Mei

Hi there,

The spanish colours come from Castil and Aragon province's arms and first appeared in the flag at 1785. But they featured in the current desing only since 1939, when the Fascist victors of the Civil War abolished the governament's red, yellow and purple horitzontal tricolor. The state flag has the arms set towards the hoist in the yellow band. They compromise, in a shield, the arms of the provinces, with the royal Bourbons' _fleurs de lis _badge in the center. Above is a crown and on either side the Pillars of Hercules, boundaries on the ancient world; the sea is at their base and a scroll aroung reds Plus Ultra (More Beyond), recalling overseas exploration and the Spanish American Empire.

Here you have it:

http://s61.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3DKVSUGUBYZPT0K3IRAHARLWDY

I must say that I was helped to write this, I just want you to understand it....  

Cheers

Mei


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## Fernando

Mei said:
			
		

> Hi there,
> 
> The spanish colours come from Castil and Aragon province's arms and first appeared in the flag at 1785. But they featured in the current desing only since 1939, when the Fascist victors of the Civil War abolished the governament's red, yellow and purple horitzontal tricolor. The state flag has the arms set towards the hoist in the yellow band. They compromise, in a shield, the arms of the provinces, with the royal Bourbons' _fleurs de lis _badge in the center. Above is a crown and on either side the Pillars of Hercules, boundaries on the ancient world; the sea is at their base and a scroll aroung reds Plus Ultra (More Beyond), recalling overseas exploration and the Spanish American Empire.
> 
> Here you have it:
> 
> http://s61.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3DKVSUGUBYZPT0K3IRAHARLWDY
> 
> I must say that I was helped to write this, I just want you to understand it....
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Mei



Well, they are in the current design since 1785. Only in the 1936-9 period it was otherwise.

And yes, I forgot the Pillars of Hercules.


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## Heba

The Egyptian flag has three colours: red, white and black. There is also an eagle on the white stripe.
The color red refers to the blood shed during the struggle for freedom against the colonizers and the dictatorship of the monarchy.The white symbolizes the advent of the 1952 Revolution which ended the monarchy without bloodshed. The color black symbolizes the end of the oppression of the people of Egypt at the hands of the Monarchy and occupation. As for the eagle, it is the eagle of Salahuddin  El Ayoubi (Saladdin), the Ayubbid Sultan who ruled Egypt and Syria in 12th Century.


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## Hakro

The Finnish flag is similar to the flags of the other Nordic countries but with distinctively different colours: blue cross on white background. Blue is the colour of the sky or the thousand lakes, white is the colour of snow.

The government flag has the arms of Finland in the middle of the cross.

Finland is one of the few countries that have a different flag for pleasure boats of yacht clubs: it has a thin white cross on the blue cross, and the blue colour is darker than in the national flag. This flag is in fact older than the national flag and the independency of Finland itself.


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## TommyEngel

The Belgian flag is indeed inspired by the French tricolore and the colors come from the coat of arms: a golden lion with red claws and tongue, holding a black shield.

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More info on flags and their significance can be found on this site:
http://worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/flags.htm


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## winnie

Italian flag:

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Italian flag is a variation of the French revolutionary flag blue/white/red
the blue was replaced by green which in the Masonic symbolism meant 'nature' and 'natural rights' like liberty and equality.
it seems that this flag was seen for the first time in 1796 when Napoleon led the Italian revolutionary troops against Austrian troops.


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## I.C.

Lancel0t said:
			
		

> 3 Stars - 3 main islands (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao)
> Sun with 8 rays - symbolizes the 8 major provinces that revolt agains the spaniards during the colonization


 Thought the triangle might be considered a reference to trinity.

German flag, black, red, gold, to my knowledge derived from the colours the Lützower Jäger had incorporated in their dress during the Napoleonic Wars (which were the starting point for a movement promoting the unification of Germany, which was split in several smaller states back then).


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## sunbeam1

The scottish flag is the st andrews cross, and i believe that it originates in shape from the shape of cross st andrew was crucified on.  Years later when king angus went to battle with the picts and scots against the angles, its said that st andrew came to him in the night and said he would win. Then when he went to battle the clouds made the shape of the cross against the blue sky...they won! Its been the scottish flag ever since, and is known as the Saltire. 

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We do have another less used but equally recognised flag but no way i can draw it, its the "rampant lion", or the royal standard of scotland. Not sure exactly of origins, but always see it at football and rugby matches along with the saltire!!!


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## Laia

sunbeam1 said:
			
		

> The scottish flag is the st andrews cross, and i believe that it originates in shape from the shape of cross st andrew was crucified on. Years later when king angus went to battle with the picts and scots against the angles, its said that st andrew came to him in the night and said he would win. Then when he went to battle the clouds made the shape of the cross against the blue sky...they won! Its been the scottish flag ever since, and is known as the Saltire.
> 
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> 
> We do have another less used but equally recognised flag but no way i can draw it, its the "rampant lion", or the royal standard of scotland. Not sure exactly of origins, but always see it at football and rugby matches along with the saltire!!!


 
Aye! When I was in Scotland I saw the two different flags...

greetings from wee Laia!


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## Hakro

sunbeam1 said:
			
		

> The scottish flag is the st andrews cross, and i believe that it originates in shape from the shape of cross st andrew was crucified on. Years later when king angus went to battle with the picts and scots against the angles, its said that st andrew came to him in the night and said he would win. Then when he went to battle the clouds made the shape of the cross against the blue sky...they won! Its been the scottish flag ever since, and is known as the Saltire.
> 
> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Did you know that the Scottish flag with the St. Adndrew's cross is practically a 'negative' of the Russian naval ensign!


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## Miguelillo 87

I was wondering What is the meaning of your flag?

Mexican flag it's, Green, white and red, In the white part has an eagle eating a snake.

The green means the hope of the population 
the white.- the pure  mind of the population
The red means the blood which was spread for our national heroes.

And the eagle eating the sanke it's there because when Mexico coty was found by the Aztecs , it was found because the Aztecs were told by their God,That they have to buil its city where they found a eagle eating a snake above a nopal, That's why untill our time this eagle it's ymbol f the people of mexico and also our national shield. 
See her for see our flag.
http://www.paises.com.mx/mexico/bandera.html


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## pickypuck

Mei said:
			
		

> But they featured in the current desing only since 1939, when the Fascist victors of the Civil War abolished the governament's red, yellow and purple horitzontal tricolor.


 
Apparently it had two colours before the Second Republic. They put the purple one due to chromatic confusion  

The flag of Extremadura has three colours but now I'm very lazy to explain the meaning of them  

¡Olé!


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## The Extraordinary

the Greek flag consists of 9 srtipes (blue and white) and a box at the top left that contains a white cross. the blue and white colours were picked because they represent the see (blue) and its spume (white). the nine stripes, which go blue-white, blue-white etc.. represent a) the syllables of the phrase ELEPHTHERIA I THANATOS (FREEDOM OR DEATH) or b) the nine Muses, ancient godesses of art. finally the cross represents the christianity and more specifically, it represents the current religion of greece, which is Orthodox Christianity


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## The Extraordinary

winnie said:
			
		

> Italian flag:
> 
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> XXXXX*XXXXX*XXXXX
> XXXXX*XXXXX*XXXXX
> XXXXX*XXXXX*XXXXX
> 
> Italian flag is a variation of the French revolutionary flag blue/white/red
> the blue was replaced by green which in the Masonic symbolism meant 'nature' and 'natural rights' like liberty and equality.
> it seems that this flag was seen for the first time in 1796 when Napoleon led the Italian revolutionary troops against Austrian troops.


 
I've read that green represents the hills, white the snow of the Alpes and red the blood that Italians gave for their independence. another theory says that green represents hope, white represents faith and red represents charity. this last interpratation is the religious one. I hope I helped!


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## Fernando

According to this link the symbolism of Extremaduran flag is :

- Green from Orden de Alcántara (a Knighthood Order, as the Templars).
- White from Alphonse IX of León , who recovered most of the region from the Moors.
- Black from the family who ruled during the Moor kingdom of Badajoz.

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/es-ex.html#mea

Actually the flag is a (nice) invention from 1976, probably a merge of Badajoz and Cáceres coats of arms inspired by the Andalusian flag or (kidding) a merge of the two capital cities teams shirts: Cacereño (green) and Badajoz (white-black).


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## Blackleaf

The Union Flag (known as the Union Jack when flown from a British ship) comes from the combination of first the English and Scottish flags and then, when Ireland joined the Union in 1801, the Irish flag. In thise days, the flag of Ireland was white with a red cross. Now, even though that it's spilt into two and the southern half left the Union whilst the northern half remained, the flag of the whole of Ireland remains in the Union flag.  The blue on the background of the Scottish flag is light blue, but on the back of the Union Flag it's dark blue.

The Union Flag was created by a Scotsman - King James I of England, VI of Scotland - in 1606.


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## maxiogee

Blackleaf said:
			
		

> The Union Flag (known as the Union Jack when flown from a British ship) comes from the combination of first the English and Scottish flags and then, when Ireland joined the Union in 1801, the Irish flag.



No, the flags used in the Union Flag are not the "flags" of the various nations - they are the symbols of the patron saints of those nations —> The Scottish Saltire (the 'cross' of Saint Andrew - Scotland), The Cross of Saint George (England) and Saint Patrick's Cross (Ireland). I think any flag Ireland had back them would have consisted of a harp in gold on a green background.
.


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## Blackleaf

maxiogee said:
			
		

> No, the flags used in the Union Flag are not the "flags" of the various nations - they are the symbols of the patron saints of those nations —>
> .


 
They are still the flags of each nation.  Each nation's flag has to derive from somewhere.


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## Blackleaf

maxiogee said:
			
		

> I think any flag Ireland had back them would have consisted of a harp in gold on a green background.
> .


 
Up until around 1949 when the Irish Republic was formed, Ireland's flag was a red diagonal cross on a white background, and is where the red diagional cross on the Union Flag is from.  As an Irishman, you should know that.  

In 1801, the whole of Ireland was one nation when it joined the Union.  Now it's two nations each with its own flag.


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## ukuca

There is a myth or a rumour about the Turkish flag (which I find irrelevant) goes like this: After a very violent battle, a Turkish officer sees this shape of flag in a hole (A crescent moon and a star). But I believe that, the crescent simply represents a Muslim country as usual and the star represents a struggle for independence.


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## K.os

The Canadian flag is red and white, has a white stripe the half of the flag's width in the middle with two red stripe on either side and a red maple leaf in the middle of the white stripe. It is rather new as it's only been the flag since 1965. The maple leaf represents Canada's nature and environment. Red is for Saint George's Cross, and white from the French royal emblem. So the two colors represent both founding countries, France and England.

Before the current flag, the Canadian flag was the Red Ensign.

Edit: added Red Ensign.


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## Blackleaf

Roi Marphille said:
			
		

> Exactly, what about this other curiosity few people realised..
> Union Jack/Flag *is not* SYMMETRIC!
> I noticed few years ago.


 
That's because it's impossible to superimpose diagonal crosses (the Cross of St Andrew and the Cross of St Patrick) over a horizontal/vertical cross (Cross of St George) symmetrically.


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## Blackleaf

Scotland didn't join the Union with England/Wales until 1707, but the Union Flag was created in 1606 as the Crowns of England and Scotland united together in 1603. Between 1707 and 1801, the Union Flag was different than it is now as the Cross of St Patrick wasn't included. Then, when Ireland joined the Union in 1801, the Cross of St Patrick - a red diagonal cross on a white background - was added to the Union Flag.


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## maxiogee

maxiogee said:
			
		

> No, the flags used in the Union Flag are not the "flags" of the various nations - they are the symbols of the patron saints of those nations —> The Scottish Saltire (the 'cross' of Saint Andrew - Scotland), The Cross of Saint George (England) and Saint Patrick's Cross (Ireland). I think any flag Ireland had back them would have consisted of a harp in gold on a green background.
> .






> They are still the flags of each nation. Each nation's flag has to derive from somewhere.


Yes, our flag was a gold harp on a green 'field'. That "cross" was a sometime flag used in various ways by various people. The reason it was chosen for incorporation into the Union Flag is obvious - it shares a style with the other two 'flags' with which it was merged.





> Up until around 1949 when the Irish Republic was formed, Ireland's flag was a red diagonal cross on a white background, and is where the red diagional cross on the Union Flag is from. As an Irishman, you should know that.



Why should I know that?

The Irish tricolour was adopted as the flag of Ireland in 1922. Its status was enshrined in the Constitution of 1937.

As I said the red saltire was never an official flag of Ireland.



> In 1801, the whole of Ireland was one nation when it joined the Union. Now it's two nations each with its own flag.



Ireland didn't "join" the union in the same way as it "joined" the EU. It was subsumed into a union against the will of the vast majority, even of those in the 'parliament'.
We may have been a "nation", but we were ruled from London, and our parliament was a packed one, open only to those of a certain persuasion. We did not have any "Irishness" recognised and so the red saltire was a foreign concept as a "flag".


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## Nineu

The Basque flag (_Ikurriña) _was originally created for one of the Basque regions, Vizcaya (Bizkaia),  but it soon became so popular that it was accepted as the flag of the Basque Country in the six other Basque regions.
 
The Basque flag consists of a green X and a white cross superimposed on a red background.
 
There are several interpretations of the Basque flag. According to one interpretation, the green St Andrew's cross might represent the Oak of Guernica, a symbol of the old laws of Bizkaia, or Fueros. The white cross represents Catholicism and was also found behind the Oak in the Heraldic arms of Bizkaia, and the red background represents the Basque people (originally, the Biscaynes). Thus, red, white and green have become the national Basque colors.


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## Mery_Dian

The Moroccan Flag's background is Red with a green pentacle (five-pointed, linear star) in its center, known as Solomon's seal. 

Red is a symbol of the blood shed by valiant nationalists to defend the country. In the same vein, red represents hardiness, strength and bravery, and is considered as a call for sacrifice when the nation's freedom is at stake. In addition, red is the color symbol of the descendants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The pentagram/pentacle most likely stands for the link between God and the nation. It is also possible that the flag uses the pentagram as a symbol of King Solomon's wisdom, common to all three monotheistic religions.

The five-branch star is also a symbol of life, wisdom and good health. As regards the color of the pentacle, green is the traditional color of Islam. It represents hope, joy, peace, fertility and love as well.


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## capsi

India.....

The National Flag shall be a tri-colour panel made up of three rectangular panels or sub-panels of equal widths. The colour of the top panel shall be India saffron (Kesari) symbolizes courage,patriotism and that of the bottom panel shall be India green symbolizes prosperity . The middle panel shall be white symbolizes peace, purity , bearing at its centre the design of Ashoka Chakra (3rd century BC Mauryan emperor) 'The Wheel of Law' in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes. The Ashoka Chakra shall be completely visible on both sides of the Flag in the centre of the white panel.

The National Flag of India shall be made of hand spun and hand woven wool/cotton/silk/ khadi 

The National Flag shall be rectangular in shape. The ratio of the length to the height (width) of the Flag shall be 3:2.


[ the colour saffron is hindu religious colour like the green for muslims, and you have white in between (the colour of peace)... if you want to think in a different way  . Though it was never thought in that way.]


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## Blackleaf

maxiogee said:
			
		

> Ireland didn't "join" the union in the same way as it "joined" the EU. It was subsumed into a union against the will of the vast majority, even of those in the 'parliament'.


 
Are you saying that the majority of the Irish were in favour of Ireland joining the EU in 1973?


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## Miguelillo 87

Blackleaf said:
			
		

> Are you saying that the majority of the Irish were in favour of Ireland joining the EU in 1973?


IRELAND was joint of US????
I didn't know, Nowadays Irelnd it's independant right?


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## maxiogee

Blackleaf said:
			
		

> Are you saying that the majority of the Irish were in favour of Ireland joining the EU in 1973?



In May 1972 Ireland voted on joining the EEC (as it was then).
The turnout was 72% of the electorate.
1,041,890 voted to accept the proposal that Ireland join and 211,891 voted against - that's 83% of the turnout voting yes. 

83% of 72% is about 60% — so yes, by any measurement, the Irish were in favour of joining.


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## maxiogee

Miguelillo 87 said:
			
		

> IRELAND was joint of US????
> I didn't know, Nowadays Ireland it's independant right?



Miguelillo, EU = European Union, which used to be called the EEC, or European Economic Community — not los Estados Unidos.


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## Miguelillo 87

maxiogee said:
			
		

> Miguelillo, EU = European Union, which used to be called the EEC, or European Economic Community — not los Estados Unidos.


Thank I confused as in spanish the abreviation for US is EU i was flabbergasped!!!!!!!! Thanks God it was just a confussion, Sorry and thanks for the explanation


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## french4beth

For the US flag, I found the following on wikipedia:


> In terms of the symbolism of the design itself, a book about the flag published by the Congress in 1977 states: "The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun."[1] George Washington is credited for saying: "We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty."


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## castellano

Nineu said:
			
		

> The Basque flag (_Ikurriña) _was originally created for one of the Basque regions, Vizcaya (Bizkaia), but it soon became so popular that it was accepted as the flag of the Basque Country in the six other Basque regions.
> 
> The Basque flag consists of a green X and a white cross superimposed on a red background.
> 
> There are several interpretations of the Basque flag. According to one interpretation, the green St Andrew's cross might represent the Oak of Guernica, a symbol of the old laws of Bizkaia, or Fueros. The white cross represents Catholicism and was also found behind the Oak in the Heraldic arms of Bizkaia, and the red background represents the Basque people (originally, the Biscaynes). Thus, red, white and green have become the national Basque colors.


 


As far as I know, and documents prove it, the Basque flag was invented by the foundator of the Basque nationalism, "Mr." Sabino Arana Goiri, who firstly deviced the flag taking the British flag's pattern as a model (he was a fan of Britishness).  
He invented the _ikurriña _and this flag was used on the first instance as the flag of the PNV (or Basque Nationalist Party). The _ikurriña_ was considered in later years as the flag of some Basques (the nationalist ones), and it became more popular as the nationalist ideas spread more and more in the Basque region in the 1920-30's. However, reports show that the _ikurriña_ was not well seen in Pamplona and other parts of Navarre, in the 1930's. 
After 1978, this Basque flag, which initially had been the symbol of a political party, was made to be the representative flag of a region (the Basque Country) to make the Basque nationalists happy, but was later accepted by all as a symbol of the Basques, whose land -the mythical "Euskal Herria" or Basque Country of 7 provinces- has never been a "political entity" in History, but an invention of Mr. Sabino Arana.

Most Basques ignore that their flag was firstly the flag of a political party, a flag invented and displayed in public at the very end of the 19th century, in the political events of the PNV.

I agree with Nineu about the religious meanings (Sabino Arana was a fanatic Catholic) of the colours and shapes of the _ikurriña_.

Regards.


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## claudine2006

I'm very sorry to remind you that Catalonia is not a country. 
The topics is "the significance of your country's flag" and not of your "comunidad autónoma".
If we start speaking about every region or city flag it will take years.


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## Blackleaf

claudine2006 said:
			
		

> I'm very sorry to remind you that Catalonia is not a country.
> The topics is "the significance of your country's flag" and not of your "comunidad autónoma".
> If we start speaking about every region or city flag it will take years.


 
No, it's not an actual country but is a nation, like Scotland or England.

Catalonia also has a national football team that played Wales a few months ago.


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## groggy

Blackleaf said:
			
		

> No, it's not an actual country but is a nation, like Scotland or England.
> 
> Catalonia also has a national football team that played Wales a few months ago.


They actually played against the Euskal Selekzioa (the Basque Selection), which, like the Catalonian selection, is not considered a "national" team, as they are not full members of FIFA...and never will be, unless the Basque Country or Catalonia become sovereign states one day.
The country vs nation thing is a difficult one... I would say that my country's flag is the St.George's cross of England, but my nation's flag is the Union Flag of the UK...

Some details about those two flags here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George's_cross
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Flag


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## pickypuck

Those teams are called "selecciones autonómicas" and most Spanish regions have them... especially the rich ones because the regional governments have enough money to invest in them and because they have the best teams of the different leagues so it's easy to form a team of good players. They can't compete in official international events because in those, it's the Spanish selection who takes part in.

¡Olé!


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## shaloo

This is the Indian flag : http://www.indianchild.com/images/indiaflagbig.gif

*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*
*XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX*

The *saffron* colour shows Bravery and Courage
The *white* colour shows Peace
The *green* colour shows Prosperity; it signifies the well-being of Farmers, as India is basically an agriculture-based country, we believe if our food producers live happily, we too will.
And, yeah....The *blue* colour at the center is actually a wheel: its called as The Asoka Chakra. 
Chakra means Wheel. Asoka was our ancient king who stood strong for Dharma i.e., Righteousness.Hence..*The Wheel of Asoka.*

*That gives the significance of our Indian Flag !*

Shaloo


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## Amandla

This is the catalan flag: It's named: Senyera


It's the anarchist catalan flag, which means the Fredoom of Catalan countries and the anarchy



It's the other anticapitalist flag, which means the Fredoom of Catalan countries and marxism or socialism. It's the most famous anticapitalist and independence flag.



It means the Fredoom only for Catalonia, without the other countries and without social transformation.


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## Xamayca

The flag of Jamaica is sometimes referred to as “The Cross” or as the “Black, Green and Gold''.

Symbolism of the Flag of Jamaica

Over time the meaning behind the colours of the Jamaican flag has changed. After independence in 1962, government officials claimed the black colour stood for the difficulties faced by the country, the green represented the island itself, and the gold colour symbolised the bright sun that shines over the land. Today, however, the colours have taken on slightly different meanings. Beginning in 1996, the black colour has been said to represent the people of the land, particularly their strength and resilience against hardships. The green colour represents the abundance of flora found throughout the island, and the gold colour symbolises the riches found within Jamaica.


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## Penyafort

claudine2006 said:


> I'm very sorry to remind you that Catalonia is not a country.
> The topics is "the significance of your country's flag" and not of your "comunidad autónoma".
> If we start speaking about every region or city flag it will take years.



Regardless of whether one considers Catalonia a country or not at the moment, the flag was the one of the Crown of Aragon, which was one of the European powers in the Mediterranean in medieval times. As one of the oldest flags in Europe, along with the Danish one, it is not comparable to those of 'any region or city' of recent creation.


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## Vukabular

The flag of Serbia has three horizontal stripes of red blue and white with a two-headed white eagle with a golden crown, with a shield bearing a cross with four Cyrillic letters "C" and two lily of the valley. It is not easy to explain the meaning of all the symbols, since some of them originate from the Neolithic more precisely, a  cross with four letters "C" representing the summer and winter solstice and equinoxes, and the letter "C" representing the four lunar phases. The two-headed white eagle is a symbol from the time when the Serbs ruled Rome, one of the three Htonian beings next to the wolf and the serpent. The lily or more precisely the lily of the valley may be the most difficult to explain because they are related to the Veniamin (Benjamin) tribe, the Merovingian dynasty, and St. George. In Serbian St. George = "St. *Đurđ"* and lily of the valley = "*đurđ*evak" while an ordinary lily = "ljiljan"...


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## Circunflejo

Mei said:


> The spanish colours come from Castil and Aragon province's arms and first appeared in the flag at 1785.


 None of the colours of the Spanish flag matches the coulours of the Castilian flag.


Fernando said:


> Only in the 1936-9 period it was otherwise.


 You are overlooking that it was used during the second Republic (from 1931). During the Civil war, it was used by both sides till August 29th, 1936. From there onwards, just by the Republican side and its supporters.



Miguelillo 87 said:


> in spanish the abreviation for US is EU


In Spanish, the abreviation for US is EE. UU.


Amandla said:


> It means the Fredoom only for Catalonia


 I've seen it used by pro-Independence people/associations in the Balearic Islands claiming for Independence of the Balearic islands.


Vukabular said:


> The flag of Serbia has three vertical stripes of red blue and white


Vertical? P.S.: It seems that @Vukabular already fixed it (the stripes aren't vertical but horizontal, as he wrote after my comment) but he didn't bother to let us know.


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## Fernando

Circunflejo said:


> You are overlooking that it was used during the second Republic (from 1931). During the Civil war, it was used by both sides till August 29th, 1936. From there onwards, just by the Republican side and its supporters.



You are obviously right. I was addressing Mei's message about that current design was only for Franco time. I meant 1931-39. As you point out, in nationalist-controlled ground, red-yellow-blue design was used until it was replaced by the traditional red-yellow design a few moths later.


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## apmoy70

The Greek flag is made up of nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white with a blue canton on the upper left with a white Greek cross in it. There are many theories concerning its symbolism, some say that the 9 stripes stand for the number of syllables of the national motto "Freedom of Death", others that it stands for the nine muses. No-one knows the significance of the colours either, some say that the white stands for the purity of the struggle against the Ottomans, others say it's the colour of the sea foam created by the agitation of wave action, while blue stands for the colour of the sky, or the hope for freedom.
Personally, I think that the theory that both the pattern and the colouring derive from a long tradition starting from Byzantium is plausible. It quite possibly stems from the droungos (i.e. the naval ensign) of the Byzantine Aegean fleet: 
image1 — Postimage.org


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## Welsh_Sion

Here's the background to my country's flag - and what I 'wear' proudly on this site. It is one of the oldest (and youngest!) of European flags and does not figure on the so-called 'Union' Flag of the UK.

We are onky one of two nations in the world to have a dragon on our flag. The trivia question is - Which is the other?

Cofion gorau / Best wishes,

Dragon spirit: the legend of the Welsh dragon


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## Circunflejo

Welsh_Sion said:


> The trivia question is - Which is the other?


Bhutan.


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## Penyafort

Circunflejo said:


> I've seen it used by pro-Independence people/associations in the Balearic Islands claiming for Independence of the Balearic islands.



Both of you are right. 

Nowadays for most people the use of that flag is associated to independence as an aim, regardless of whether one may relate that aim to Catalonia alone or the whole Catalan-speaking area.

Originally (1904-1908), though, the appearance of that star simply simbolized independence for Catalonia (the Principality), and it was inside a rhombus in the middle of the flag, inspired by the then recent Cuban adopted flag (1902) after the Cuban independene from Spain (1898), itself created in the 1840s, inspired by the Lone star of the Texas Republic (1836-1846), which had became independent from Mexico (New Spain).

The Catalan Committee wanted to enter the League of Nations, precedent to the UN, and the flag already with the left triangle was associated to it first, after having been worn by Catalan volunteers in World War One. So the first 'official' representation of it was in 1918. That Commitee Pro Catalonia had only Catalonia in mind, not the Catalan Countries (the concept already existed but the use of it was still only cultural).


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## Stoggler

Circunflejo said:


> Bhutan.



Malta also has a dragon.

You have to look closely though: the George Cross has an image of St George killing the dragon.


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## Keith Bradford

Blackleaf said:


> ...The Union Flag was created by a Scotsman - King James I of England, VI of Scotland - in 1606.


Yes, and he had a devil of a job to create it!  Six designs were put forward in 1604, all trying to join the red-on-white cross of St George (England) with the white-on-blue saltire of St Andrew (Scotland).  They looked like this:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Union_jack_proposed.jpg

None of them was at all attractive, but from about 1605 the navy started using a design similar to today's as a jack (a small flag at the stern), and that went on to become the modern Union Flag.


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## Stoggler

Keith Bradford said:


> as a jack (a small flag at the stern)



A jack is flown at the bow of a ship, not the stern.


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## Keith Bradford

Stoggler said:


> A jack is flown at the bow of a ship, not the stern.


Sorry, I mis-copied!


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## Linnets

Welsh_Sion said:


> We are only one of two nations in the world to have a dragon on our flag.


What about St David's flag? Is it as popular as the Dragon flag (_Y Ddraig Goch_) is?


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## Welsh_Sion

St. David's flag (the flag of Saint David, _Baner Dewi Sant_) is growing in significance and you can see it paraded on various days, as well as on the Saint's Day itself, of course (1 March according to us, but it seems the French think differently ...). Also in evidence during demonstrations and nationalist rallies, too. (These latter are also growing - or were pre-Covid.)

As you are probably aware, St. David's flag has no official sanction. In fact, _y ddraig goch_ itself in its present form was only officially sanctioned by the Queen in 1959 despite being one of the oldest national flags in use.


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