Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland covers a total area of 338,145 square kilometres (130,559 sq mi), including a land area of 303,815 square kilometres (117,304 sq mi), and has a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish; 84.9 percent of the population speak the first as their mother tongue and 5.1 percent the latter. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
The national flag of Finland, also known in Finnish as the Siniristilippu, dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity.
The national flag of Norway is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross bordered in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog, the flag of Denmark.
By an ordinance issued by the government of Sweden, a number of days of the calendar year are designated as official flag flying days when the Swedish flag is flown on all public flagpoles and buildings. Hoisting of the Swedish flag on private flagpoles on these days is strongly encouraged but not mandatory.
The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the Blue-and-White or the Cyan-and-White, is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has 5 equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There is a blue canton in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolises Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The blazon of the flag is Azure, four bars Argent; on a canton of the field a Greek cross throughout of the second. The official flag ratio is 2:3. The shade of blue used in the flag has varied throughout its history, from light blue to dark blue, the latter being increasingly used since the late 1960s. It was officially adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus on 13 January 1822.
All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and non-Christian holidays. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, New Year's Day, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension day, Pentecost, Midsummer Day, and All Saints' Day. The non-Christian holidays are May Day and the Independence Day of Finland.
The flag of New Zealand, also known as the New Zealand Ensign, is based on the British maritime Blue Ensign – a blue field with the Union Jack in the canton or upper hoist corner – augmented or defaced with four red stars centred within four white stars, representing the Southern Cross constellation.
The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag.
The national flag of Zambia was adopted upon independence on 24 October 1964, by the first Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda. Before that, Zambia was the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and used a defaced Blue Ensign as its flag.
A flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation's adoption of its flag.
Half-mast or half-staff refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salute.
In Article 18 of the Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem there is a listing of dates that the Mexican flag is flown by all branches of government. Civilians are also encouraged to display the national flag on these days. Many of the dates listed in the law denote significant events and people that shaped of Mexican identity and the course of its History. Some of the holidays and commemorations listed require the flag to be flown at half-staff. The national flag can be flown any day of the year by civilians or at festive occasions in persurrence to Article 15 of the Law on the National Arms, Flag, and Anthem.
A flag protocol is a set of rules and regulations for the display of flags within a country, including national, subnational, and foreign flags. Generally, flag protocols call for the national flag to be the most prominent flag, flown highest and to its own right and for the flag to never touch the ground. Enforcement of flag protocols vary by nation, with some countries using flag protocols as recommendations and guidelines, while some countries enforce the violations of flag protocol with civil or criminal penalties.
The national flag of Australia is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star and a representation of the Southern Cross constellation, made up of five white stars. Australia also has a number of other official flags representing its people and government bodies.
Dates when the Norwegian state flag is flown by all branches of government and state agencies are listed in Article 4 of the regulations concerning the use of the state flag and the merchant flag, as modified by Royal Resolution of 3 December 2004. Civilians are also encouraged to display the national flag on these flag-flying days. The flag is flown on the birthday of a member of the Norwegian Royal House, on some Christian holidays and on the dates of significant events of Norwegian history.
The national flag of Mexico is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these three colors were adopted by Mexico following independence from Spain during the country's War of Independence, and subsequent First Mexican Empire.
IF Gnistan, commonly known as Gnistan, is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Veikkausliiga, the first tier of the Finnish league system. IF Gnistan play their home matches at Mustapekka Areena. Club's home district is Oulunkylä, which locates in northern part of the capital city.
The national flag of Ireland, frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour, is a vertical tricolour of green, white and orange. The proportions of the flag are 1:2.
The Captive Queen, Op. 48, is a single-movement, patriotic cantata for mixed choir and orchestra written in 1906 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The piece, which is a setting of the Finnish author Paavo Cajander's Finnish-language poem of the same name, is chronologically the fifth of Sibelius's nine orchestral cantatas.
A flag flying day is a day, decreed officially or by tradition, that the national flag should be hoisted by every official agency in the country. Private citizens and corporations also encouraged to fly the flag rather than leaving the flag staff empty or flying family or corporate flags. Flag flying days may also be observed for some provincial flags.
