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A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours and symbols, which may also be used separately from the flag as a symbol of the nation.
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The colours and designs of national flags usually are not arbitrarily selected but rather stem from the history, culture, or religion of the particular country. Many flags can be traced to a common origin, and such “flag families” are often linked both by common traditions and by geography. The oldest European flags still in use are those that display the Christian cross, which was first extensively used in the Crusades. Of note is the British flag, the Union Jack, which incorporates the Crosses of St. George (England), St. Andrew (Scotland), and St. Patrick (Ireland). Among other European flags with crosses are those of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greece, and Switzerland.
Following the introduction of heraldry into Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, European royalty adopted coats of arms that soon became the basis of their flags. Those heraldic devices have largely disappeared from modern national flags, but the colours used in the coats of arms are still the colours of the flags of Poland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Monaco. The flags of Austria and the tiny states of San Marino and Liechtenstein still display the heraldic devices themselves.
Among the better known of Europe’s striped flags was the red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands. Because of its use in that country’s long war for independence from Spain, the flag and its colours became associated with the concepts of liberty and a republican form of government. That association was greatly reinforced by France’s adoption of the same colours, but with vertical instead of horizontal stripes, following the French Revolution of 1789. The newly independent United States’ choice of those colours for the Stars and Stripes, however, was based on its former affiliation with Britain and the colours of the Union Jack. Other countries in Europe and in South and Central America selected tricolours of their own to express their adherence to the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity as embodied in the French flag.
The flag of the Soviet Union was red with a yellow hammer and sickle, the traditional symbol of revolution for communists. China also adopted a red flag on the basis of that colour’s communist associations.
In the Middle East the predominance of Islam has generally limited the choice of flag colours to the four traditional Muslim colours of red, white, green, and black. The flags of most Arab states use one or more of those colours in a tricolour format, although the star and crescent motif is present in the flags of Turkey, Algeria, and Tunisia. Other primarily Muslim countries, such as Pakistan and Malaysia, also use the star and crescent as a sign of their Islamic faith.
Almost all the flags of the sub-Saharan African countries were created in the late 1950s and ’60s and bear strong family resemblances to one another. The two major categories are flags of member states of the British Commonwealth and those of countries formerly under French colonial control. The flags of the former French colonies tend to have vertical tricolours and are generally green-yellow-red, while the flags of the Commonwealth members have horizontal tricolours and often include green, blue, black, and white.
The colours and designs of national flags usually are not arbitrarily selected but rather stem from the history, culture, or religion of the particular country. Many flags can be traced to a common origin, and such “flag families” are often linked both by common traditions and by geography. The oldest European flags still in use are those that display the Christian cross, which was first extensively used in the Crusades. Of note is the British flag, the Union Jack, which incorporates the Crosses of St. George (England), St. Andrew (Scotland), and St. Patrick (Ireland). Among other European flags with crosses are those of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greece, and Switzerland.
Following the introduction of heraldry into Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, European royalty adopted coats of arms that soon became the basis of their flags. Those heraldic devices have largely disappeared from modern national flags, but the colours used in the coats of arms are still the colours of the flags of Poland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Monaco. The flags of Austria and the tiny states of San Marino and Liechtenstein still display the heraldic devices themselves.
Among the better known of Europe’s striped flags was the red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands. Because of its use in that country’s long war for independence from Spain, the flag and its colours became associated with the concepts of liberty and a republican form of government. That association was greatly reinforced by France’s adoption of the same colours, but with vertical instead of horizontal stripes, following the French Revolution of 1789. The newly independent United States’ choice of those colours for the Stars and Stripes, however, was based on its former affiliation with Britain and the colours of the Union Jack. Other countries in Europe and in South and Central America selected tricolours of their own to express their adherence to the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity as embodied in the French flag.
The flag of the Soviet Union was red with a yellow hammer and sickle, the traditional symbol of revolution for communists. China also adopted a red flag on the basis of that colour’s communist associations.
In the Middle East the predominance of Islam has generally limited the choice of flag colours to the four traditional Muslim colours of red, white, green, and black. The flags of most Arab states use one or more of those colours in a tricolour format, although the star and crescent motif is present in the flags of Turkey, Algeria, and Tunisia. Other primarily Muslim countries, such as Pakistan and Malaysia, also use the star and crescent as a sign of their Islamic faith.
Almost all the flags of the sub-Saharan African countries were created in the late 1950s and ’60s and bear strong family resemblances to one another. The two major categories are flags of member states of the British Commonwealth and those of countries formerly under French colonial control. The flags of the former French colonies tend to have vertical tricolours and are generally green-yellow-red, while the flags of the Commonwealth members have horizontal tricolours and often include green, blue, black, and white.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sep 16, 2024 · Union Flag Union Flag (1606–1801), in which are combined the white-on-blue Cross of St. Andrew (for Scotland) and the red-on-white Cross of St. George (for England). (more) The earliest form of the flag of Great Britain, developed in 1606 and used during the reigns of James I (1603–25) and Charles I (1625–49), displayed the red cross of ...
Jul 14, 2015 · It is the navigation point that got everyone here,” he explains. “The white of the flag represents the long white cloud and also the white peaks of the ocean. The green shapes at the bottom ...
3:5. The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag. [a] The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801, which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Sep 30, 2024 · flag, a piece of cloth, bunting, or similar material displaying the insignia of a sovereign state, a community, an organization, an armed force, an office, or an individual. A flag is usually, but not always, oblong and is attached by one edge to a staff or halyard. flag parts The parts of a flag. The part nearest the staff is called the hoist ...
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May 11, 2019 · 24 Iconic World Flags, and What They Mean. From the skull and bones at the top of a pirate ship to a white flag on a battlefield, a single piece of fabric can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. Depending on where they fly, flags can represent freedom or control, danger or safety. In the context of modern times, flags are best known as ...
