Descriptions of national flags. Every country has its own unique flag, and there are flag collectors who buy all of them for their enjoyment. National flags come in a variety of colors and designs. Have you...
National flags come in a variety of colors and designs. Have you ever wondered about the meaning behind each national flag? You may find that the stories behind the flags are oftentimes more exciting than the actual designs and colors. Color and designs are used as symbols for something greater with national flags. Joe Parish, the President of Capitol Flag Company in Austin, Texas, since 1954, knows this well and takes a look at the Brazilian, German, Belgium, and Phillipine flags.
"For instance, the flag of Brazil is a green flag with a yellow diamond in the middle of it. It has a globe or a picture of the earth on it," Parish says.
The Brazilian flag consists of 4 colors (green, yellow, blue and white) in rectangular form. The color green symbolizes the Brazilian forests. The yellow symbolizes wealth. The blue symbolizes the sky of Rio de Janeiro on the night of November 15, 1889. It also symbolizes the Brazilian skies with the 27 stars representing the states. The white symbolizes the peaceful spirit of Brazil. In the flag of the Empire the green symbolizes Bragança's House in honor of Emperor Pedro I (1822-1831), and the yellow symbolizes the House of Habsburg in honor of the empress Maria Leopoldina.
As for the German flag, three main colors are used. The same is true for the Belgium flag.
"The German flag has three horizontal bars: black, yellow and red, whereas Belgium is very similar to it except the Belgium bars are vertical black, yellow and red," Parish says.
The Belgian flag is made up of vertical stripes of black, yellow and red with the black lining the pole. Black, yellow and red were the colors of the ancient Duchy of Brabant. They were raised in the Brabant revolution in which Belgian Provinces gained a short-lived period of independence from the Austrians in 1789. When Belgium became independent in 1830, these colors were adopted for the national flag.
The flag of Germany comes from the uniforms of the volunteers of Lützower in 1813 to free Germany of Napoleon's power. The jackets were black with gold buttons, and the bars were decorated with red fabric. Many students that fought under Major Lützower's command adopted those colors for the Association of Students, and during the festivities of Hambach in 1832 and in the Revolution of Março of 1848, the people already used flags in those colors (black, red and gold), being adopted as official colors after the 2nd World War.
As for the Phillipine flag, it features an eight-rayed sun and three stars, all in gold, on a white triangle on the mast. The upper half of the remaining area is blue while the lower half is red. The proportion of the flag is 1:2. Parish says what makes this flag unique is the yellow snowflake.
If you are wondering about the meaning of other national flags, there are many books full of flag history. You can also research the internet.
