A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually 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. The design of a national flag is sometimes altered after the occurrence of important historical events. The burning or destruction of a national flag is a greatly symbolic act.
The flag of Sweden consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design traditionally represents Christianity. The design and colours of the Swedish flag are believed to have been inspired by the present coat of arms of Sweden of 1442, which is blue divided quarterly by a cross pattée of gold, and modelled on the Danish flag. Blue and yellow have been used as Swedish colours at least since Magnus III's royal coat of arms of 1275.
The flag of Finland, also called Siniristilippu, dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity.
The flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928.
The national flag of Romania is a tricolor with vertical stripes, beginning from the flagpole: blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3.
The flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colors are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of the flag with the national coat of arms in the middle of the white fess is legally reserved for official use abroad and at sea. A similar flag with the addition of a white eagle is used as the naval ensign of Poland.
The flag of Norway is red with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated 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.
The flag of Russia, also known as the State Flag of the Russian Federation, is a tricolour flag consisting of three equal horizontal fields: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The flag was first used as an ensign for Russian merchant ships in 1696, representing order of priority: white for God, Blue for king, and Red for people/nation.
The flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina contains a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow right triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag. The remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle.
The flag of Portugal is a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms is centered over the colour boundary at equal distance from the upper and lower edges. On 30 June 1911, less than a year after the downfall of the constitutional monarchy, this design was officially adopted for the new national flag of the First Portuguese Republic, after selection by a special commission whose members included Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro, João Chagas and Abel Botelho.
The national flag of Ecuador, which consists of horizontal bands of yellow, blue and red, was first adopted by law in 1835 and later on 26 September 1860. The design of the current flag was finalized in 1900 with the addition of the coat of arms in the center of the flag. Before using the yellow, blue and red tricolor, Ecuador used white and blue flags that contained stars for each province of the country. The design of the flag is very similar to those of Colombia and Venezuela, which are also former constituent territories of Gran Colombia. All three are based on a proposal by Venezuelan General Francisco de Miranda, which was adopted by Venezuela in 1811 and later Gran Colombia with some modifications. There is a variant of the flag that does not contain the coat of arms that is used by the merchant marine. This flag matches Colombia's in every aspect, but Colombia uses a different design when her merchant marine ships are at sail. Along with Haiti, Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Venezuela, it is one of only seven national flags whose design incorporates a depiction of the flag itself.
The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwide design competition in early 1971. The winning designer was Susan Karike, who was 15 at the time.
Each of the 26 modern cantons of Switzerland has an official flag and a coat of arms. The history of development of these designs spans the 13th to the 20th centuries.
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. The Roman Empire also made battle standards a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.
The flag of Western Sahara also known as Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic uses a national flag consisting of a black, white and green horizontal tricolor charged with a red star and crescent in the center stripe and a red chevron at the hoist. It is used on Polisario-controlled areas, while the Moroccan flag is used on the rest of the occupied territory.
The flags of New York City include the flag of New York City, the respective flags of the boroughs of The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, and flags of certain city departments. The city flag is a vertical tricolor in blue, white, and orange and charged in the center bar with the Seal of New York City in blue. The tricolor design is derived from the flag of the Dutch Republic—the Prince's Flag—as used in New Amsterdam in 1625.
The flag of Amsterdam is the official flag for Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands. The current design of the flag depicts three Saint Andrew's Crosses and is based on the escutcheon in the coat of arms of Amsterdam.
The Flag of the province of Friesland or Frisian flag, is the official flag of the Netherlands province of Friesland.
The 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. The form of the coat of arms was most recently revised in 1968, but the overall design has been used since 1821, when the First National Flag was created.
The coat of arms of Groningen is an official symbol of the province. It was designed when the region was united in 1595 and formally approved in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina. The coat of arms consists of two lions supporting a crowned shield which is decorated with the shields of the city of Groningen and of the Ommelanden.
