Flags where there is blue red and white. White-blue flag: history and modernity

Let's start with the 2 most unusual. There are 2 states in the world (recently there were 3 more), the front and seamy side (obverse) are different. This is Saudi Arabia and Paraguay.
The modern flag of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was adopted on March 15, 1973.
On a green background (one of the main Islamic colors) one can observe white Arabic script and a white sword under it. Beautiful tie is Shahad (a symbol of faith among Muslims), which sounds like Arabic La ilaha illa Llah Muhammadun Rasul-Llah or in translation There is no God but God and Muhammad is his Prophet. A saber (or sword) has a dual meaning. Firstly, this is a hint at one of the Prophet Hatf’s favorite blades, and secondly one of the patrimonial signs of the founder of the Saudi dynasty and the first monarch of the state Abdel-Aziz ibn Saud.

flag of the kingdom of saudi arabia

The sword was added to the flag by him, and in combination with Shahada he should embody justice and justice. A feature of this flag is the ability to see the image on it and read the saying from the Quran on both sides. To do this, when manufacturing, the flag is stitched from two absolutely identical panels. The flag never goes down (even during the mourning period) and is very limited in use.
On the flag of the Republic of Paraguay, there is a completely different pattern on the front and back of it. In its current form, it was adopted in 1990. The basis was taken by the French tricolor, though they decided to make the stripes horizontal, so there is a similarity not with the French, but with the Dutch. But in any case, red, white and blue are republican colors. They symbolize patriotism, courage, equality and justice (red), inflexibility, unity, peace and purity of thoughts (white), kindness, love, accuracy, a sense of reality and freedom (blue).

front and back of the flag of the Republic of Paraguay

On the front of the flag on the middle white line is the emblem of the state. It has a rounded shape, a white background and a black outline. Along the contour, the second ring is a red stripe containing the yellow inscription Republica del Paraguay (Spanish Republic Paraguay). In the center of the whole emblem there is a yellow five-pointed star on a round blue background, framed on the left side by a green palm branch, and on the right side - a green olive branch. The yellow star is the so-called “shining May star”, which symbolizes the date of Independence, May 14, 1811, that is, a five-pointed star in honor of 5 months a year. The blue background is the peaceful sky of the Country and the waters of the main river Paraná, from which the name Paraguay was formed. The branches of palm and laurel symbolize respectively glory and peace.

map of paraguay

On the back of the flag is not the national emblem, but the seal of the Ministry of Finance. The lion depicted on the seal guards the pole crowned with the Phrygian cap, which symbolizes readiness to defend freedom and independence. Above the cap, we can see a divine ribbon on which the inscription "Paz y Justicia" (Spanish. "Peace and justice") is applied in yellow letters. It remains only to say that the aspect ratio of the flag is estimated at 3: 5.
Another amazing flag of its kind can be considered the national flag of the Republic of the Philippines.
The arrangement of two equally-sized horizontal stripes, with the addition of an isosceles triangle near the pole edge, is similar to a Czech flag. But unlike the Pan-Slavic colors of the Czech Republic, Filipinos have a different color value. From the go, the colors are precisely these colors taken in gratitude to the American people for their support in obtaining independence. Red color means patriotism, courage and blood shed by patriots.

the philippines

Blue - peace, truth and justice. The white triangle is the three fundamental principles - freedom, equality and fraternity. The golden sun is a symbol of the Philippine revolution of 1896 against Spanish rule, and eight rays signify the number of provinces in which the revolution began first: Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Écija, Tarlac, Laguna and Batangas. Three golden stars at the edges of the triangle means the 3 main island groups of the country: Luzon, Visayas Islands and Mindanao.
So what is the uniqueness of this flag, you ask? And its peculiarity is that during the war, the red and blue bands change places. And so this is the only state banner on Earth that changes depending on the political situation.

state counter of Turkmenistan

One of the most interesting and memorable flags is the banner of one of the former republics of the Soviet Union - Turkmenistan.
The flag was adopted on February 19, 1992, changed on February 1, 1997. It was developed under the control of Saparmurat Niyazov - Turkmenbashi I, a very extraordinary and enthusiastic person, so that the unusualness of the state standard should not be surprising. The basic green color of the flag with the crescent is quite explicable and widespread symbol of Islam. But further interesting - next to the crescent are 5 white five-pointed stars. Five stars designate five regions (welayats) of the country (Ahal welayat, Balkan welayat, Dashoguz welayat, Lebap welayat and Mary welayat). They also symbolize the five human senses. The five rays of each star symbolize the five states of matter: solid, liquid, gaseous, crystalline and plastic. The combination of white crescent and stars also means faith in a brighter future, and also symbolizes peace and kindness. Next to the stars is a vertical red stripe consisting of 5 main ornaments (göls), which are used in Turkmen carpets, because the carpet is one of the main symbols of Turkmenistan.

famous Turkmen carpets

Each of the ornaments represents one of 5 Turkmen clans: Tekkins, Yomuds, Saryki, Chovdary, Ersary. So a huge number of fans of carpets is now where to look their enthusiastic eyes :-)
In 1995, the president of Turkmenistan declared a policy of neutrality, which was recognized by anonymous voting at the UN General Assembly on December 12, 1995. To perpetuate this event, two crossed olive branches were added to the flag under the gels, similar to those on the UN flag.
And one more interesting moment. In accordance with the Law “On the National Flag of Turkmenistan”, the banner “does not rise on buildings undergoing major repairs in emergency condition or on buildings where the facade is being repaired”. Curious enough caveat.

flag of lesotho

The flag of the Kingdom of Lesotho is interesting because it, probably the only one of all state flags, is a headdress. This so-called phlegm is the hat of the leader of the tribe of the people of Soto, who inhabit these territories. The colors of the flag symbolize peace (white), rain (blue) and prosperity (green).
The next curious flag is the flag of the Republic of Zambia. It is curious that the main image of the flag is depicted not at the flagpole, on the left side of the flag, but in the opposite. In the lower right corner there is a tricolor of vertical stripes of red, black, orange colors, and in the upper right corner there is an image of a crying eagle (lat. Haliaeetus vocifer) with open wings. This eagle is one of the main symbols and totems of the country.

zambian government standard

The color value of the flag is as follows:
Green color - natural wealth.
Red color - blood shed for the independence of the country
Black color represents the population of Zambia.
Orange color symbolizes the country's wealth with mineral resources (primarily copper).
Officially, the flag was first raised on October 24, 1964. The shape of the eagle changed in 1996. Aspect ratio 2: 3.

flag of cape verde

It is somewhat asymmetrical, and therefore interesting for our attention the caps of the Republic of Cape Verde (Cape Verde Islands), adopted on September 25, 1992. The ring of golden stars symbolizes the unity of all parts of the country. The stars of these ten and they represent the main islands of the archipelago: (Santiago, Santo Antan, San Vicente, Sao Nicolou, Sal, Boa-Vista, Fogo, Mayu, Brava and Santa Lucia) The colors symbolize the sky and the sea (blue), peace (white) and the efforts of the people (red). The proportions of the flag are 10:17.

banner of the Republic of Nauru

Just a little bit falling out of the general plan is the flag of the smallest independent republic on earth, as well as the smallest island state, and besides, the only country in the world that does not have a capital, the Republic of Nauru. The area of ​​this dwarf state. Located in the Pacific Ocean just 21.3 km². The flag was adopted at the time of the proclamation of Independence in 1968. The blue color of the flag signifies the Pacific Ocean and the peaceful sky above it. The yellow line indicates the equator, and directly below it lies an island represented by a white star. The 12 rays of the star represent the 12 original tribes of Nauru.
Well, the last flag, which I’ll tell you about, will be the flag of the Seychelles. This banner was adopted on June 18, 1996 and is distinguished by an interesting arrangement of bands. The flag was originally a combination of the colors of the two main political parties, the Democratic Party (which is represented by blue and yellow) and the Seychelles People’s United Party (represented by white and green). The red band united both these parties.

Flag of Seychelles

Naturally, banner colors have other meanings. Blue symbolizes the sky and sea surrounding the Seychelles; yellow represents the sun and lightness of life; red - the people and their desire to work in unity; white personifies social justice and harmony; and green symbolizes the earth and the surrounding nature.

There are several hundred national flags in the world, and most people hardly distinguish the flag of one country from another. Of the entire set of state flags, there are only a few unique ones that cannot be confused with anything. The national flag of Israel is one of them.

Its appearance was preceded by a long history.
  In biblical times, the Jews did not have a single banner: the Midrash describes the flags of the 12 tribes of Israel, and the prophets mention the word "carried", which is very close in meaning to the modern term "flag" and signified a sign that was placed on a dais or strengthened on the ship. One of the most ancient documents that have survived to this day - the Dead Sea Scrolls - also contains descriptions of the flags that were used in military campaigns: various inscriptions were written on them before the battles to raise morale (for example, “God's people”).

During the long centuries of dispersion, the Jews also did not have their own flag, because there was no state and its attributes. Nevertheless, in various historical sources one can find references to banners with which the authorities in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance period favored certain Jewish communities. The Jews of Prague in 1254 received as a gift from Emperor Charles IV a special banner with the star of David on a red background. Two centuries later, the Jews of the Balkan city of Buda had a red flag with four stars (two of them were six-pointed), and then, in the middle of the 17th century, Prague Jews, in recognition of their achievements in defending the city against the Swedes, again received a red flag with a yellow star which was inscribed another star. Another Jewish flag, the banner of David Reuven, dates back to the first half of the 16th century. This banner was white with the Ten Commandments embroidered in gold (according to another version, the letters constituting the word Maccabeus). With this flag in 1532, Reuven, together with Shlomo Molkho, appeared in Regensburg before Emperor Charles V.
  Yet a single national flag, symbolizing the revival of Jewish statehood, appeared only in the last century.

The Israeli state flag was officially approved several months after the proclamation of the Jewish state, but in fact the white-blue cloth with the Star of David appeared a few dozen years earlier.

  When Theodor Herzl was still dreaming about the future Jewish state, he was already thinking about how his national flag should look. He wrote about this in his book "The Jewish State", which was released in 1896. If the proposal of the founder of the Zionist movement had come true, then the national flag of our country today would be a white flag with seven gold stars. According to Herzl, the white color of the field was to symbolize “a new and clean life”, and seven stars - seven working hours (note that in modern Israel, working time is not seven, but nine hours). Under the influence of Herzl’s Zionist organization agreed to put Magen David on the flag, but insisted that the six stars be inscribed in the corners of Magen David, and the seventh was placed above it
Design ideas regarding the flag of the future state were not limited to the proposals of Herzl. Moreover, even a good ten years before the appearance of the above labor, the flag of the Zionist organization already existed in its present form. It consisted of two blue stripes on a white background, with Magen David in the center.

For the first time this flag was hoisted in 1885. in Rishon-le-Zion, one of the first Jewish cities of the era of Zionism. In those days, the exchange of information took place many orders of magnitude slower than it is now, and therefore the delegates of the 1st Zionist Congress did not know anything about the existence of this flag. However, the best ideas, as you know, lie on the surface and very often coincide.

David Wolfson, who headed the Zionist organization at that time, put the idea of ​​a talit, a white prayer cover, in the basis of the flag he created, adding Magen David in the middle. This version of the flag in September 1933 was approved by the delegates of the 18th Zionist Congress.

  It is this image on the orders of Winston Churchill that became the basis of the official banner of the Jewish brigade during the Second World War. And it is this flag that became the forerunner of the modern state flag of Israel, whose official approval took place at one of the first meetings of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) on October 28, 1948, just five months after the Declaration of Independence was announced.

Despite the extremely young age of the state, the issue of choosing the flag was approached with all seriousness. 170 projects were presented, most of them are descriptive. It is worth noting that not all authors were inclined to choose a white-blue palette. Many projects used orange, yellow, and even purple and scarlet — the colors of royalty. Yellow as the main color of the Jewish national flag was the least popular: just three years after the end of World War II, the memory of millions of Jews was still fresh memories of the yellow stars that were put on the Jews in the Third Reich.

By the way, in the white and blue version of the national flag could look different than now. Initially, it was attended not by two, but by three parallel stripes, and not horizontal, but vertical: two blue along the edges and a white in the middle with a blue Star of David in the center. But he won the final version of the artist Richard Arel.

The modern flag of the State of Israel is a white rectangular panel with two horizontal blue stripes on the edges and the Star of David in the center. White color symbolizes purity, and blue stripes - the sky and the sea. (There is also a version that the lanes denote the Nile and Euphrates rivers and thus symbolize the dream of Greater Israel). Star of David on the flag - a symbol of Jewry, a sign of power and victory. In addition, the six-pointed star recalls the six most important virtues: chastity, selflessness, sincerity, modesty, humility and generosity.

In the history of the young Jewish state, a special place, along with the official flag, occupies the so-called “Ink flag”, with which one of the glorious pages of the War of Independence is associated. On March 5, 1949, Operation Uvda began to exit to the Red Sea. Five days later, two Israeli military brigades, the Negev and Golani, advanced to the southern city of Umm Rashrash and occupied it without a single shot. Their lightning shot and instant bloodless victory turned out to be completely unexpected, so much so that there was not even a banner at hand that should be planted at the place of victory. And then the soldiers have hastily built a homemade flag, drawing the Star of David on a piece of white matter with ink. Now in this place, in the center of the southern city of Eilat, built on the site of Umm Rashrash, is a monument. He captured the very historical moment of the hoisting of the “Ink Flag”, which became the symbol of the victory of the Israel Defense Forces in Eilat during the Arab-Israeli war of 1947-1949.

  The Israeli national flag at the beginning of this century was also in space. It first happened in January 2003, when the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, raised a white-blue banner aboard the shuttle Columbia. That flight ended tragically: the spacecraft crashed while entering the Earth’s atmosphere, and the entire crew was killed. It happened on February 1, 2003. Seven years later, the Israeli state flag was again delivered into Earth orbit. This time, he was picked up by a Canadian astronaut of Jewish origin, Ebor Reisman, who was flying as part of the crew of the shuttle Atlantis. On this flag, besides the usual paraphernalia, the name of the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon was also listed.

Israelis are proud of their flag. Every spring, on the eve of Independence Day celebrations, blue and white flags appear on hundreds of thousands of Israeli cars, and full-size flags adorn the balconies of city apartments. Our compatriots do not do this out of ostentatious patriotism and not for the sake of seeking to please the authorities. Israelis are very free and very sincere people. And if they raise a flagpole near the house or hang out a white-blue flag on their balcony, then they believe in the present and future of our country.

The source of photo illustrations is Wikipedia.

Strange flags with fun coloring.

No20 Uganda

In the center of the flag there is a white circle with the image of a national symbol - the eastern crowned crane, looking towards the flagpole. Three colors symbolize the African people (black), the African sun (yellow) and the African brotherhood (red - the color of blood that unites all people).

No19 Zimbabwe

The green of the flag symbolizes agriculture and rural areas of Zimbabwe. Yellow - minerals that the country is rich in. Red represents blood spilled during the war of independence, black is the ethnicity of the indigenous peoples of Zimbabwe and white is peace. "Bird of Zimbabwe" (carved statuette of steatite, found in the ruins of the ancient city of Greater Zimbabwe) recalls the history of Zimbabwe, the red star of the revolutionary struggle.

No18 Seychelles

The blue color on the flag personifies the sky and the sea that surrounds the Seychelles, yellow - the sun, which provides lightness of being, the red color represents the unity of people and their desire to work for peace, unity and love, white represents the rule of law, green - the earth and the surrounding nature .

No17 Marshall Islands

Blue color symbolizes the Pacific Ocean. Orange - courage and courage. White color is the world. The star represents the Christian cross, and its 24 rays represent the number of constituencies (of which 4 are the largest — Majuro, Ebeye, Jaluit and Votye).

No16 Cambodia

The blue color of the flag symbolizes monarchical power, red - the people, white - religion (Buddhism and Brahmanism). The Angkor Wat Temple symbolizes the Universe, supreme divine powers and royal power (according to the Cambodian tradition, the monarch is an intermediary between deities and people). Thus, the central symbol of the flag means the triad - Religion-Nation-King.

No15 Antigua and Barbuda

The rising sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era. The black color indicates the inhabitants' African roots. Red color symbolizes the energy of the people. Sequential coloring - yellow, blue and white (down from the sun) - the sun, sea, and sand. Blue is a symbol of hope, and also symbolizes the Caribbean Sea. V-shaped - a symbol of victory.

No14 Burundi

The colors of the flag symbolize the struggle for independence (red), hope (green) and peace (white). Three stars personify the national motto: “Unity. Job. Progress".

No13 South Korea

White color is the national color of Korea. The central emblem reflects the views of the Universe as a whole (Taoism); in this figure, the two opposite energies “yin” and “yang” unite and interact. In the corners there are trigrams, which also consist of “yin” (broken stripes) and “yang” (solid stripes). Trigrams mean (from the top of the shaft clockwise): sky, south, summer and air; Moon, west, autumn and water; Land, north, winter and earth; Sun, east, spring and fire. Black color means vigilance, stamina, justice and chastity.

No12 Canada

The flag symbolizes the two oceans washing the shores of Canada - the Pacific and the Atlantic - and the country between them. Maple leaf should emphasize the unity of the nation. Red - the color of the cross of St. George, symbolizes the UK. White is the color of the French monarchy.

According to one legend, the maple leaf became the symbol of Canada under the following circumstances. In 1860, the country was first visited by the Prince of Wales. In Toronto, a meeting of the high guest was planned. The population of the city was preparing to greet the prince with their national symbols. For example, British immigrants brought roses, Scottish - branches of the thistle (symbol of Scotland). However, for children of immigrants born in Canada, the plant symbol was not found, since the only Canadian symbol was the beaver. However, in the late 1830s, St. John’s Baptist Society in Quebec adopted the maple leaf as a symbol of its society. He was offered to carry the Canadians at a meeting with the Prince of Wales.

No11 Macedonia

The flag is a red panel with the image of the sun of a yellow color with eight diverging rays. He personifies the “new sun of freedom” sung in the national anthem of Macedonia.

No10 Grenada

Yellow color symbolizes the sun over Grenada and the friendliness of its citizens, green - agriculture, red - harmony, unity and courage. The seven stars personify the seven administrative units of Grenada. The flag placed nutmeg, the cultivation of which is the basis of the economy of Grenada. In addition, Grenada itself is one of the world's leading producers of nutmeg.

No9 Zambia

Green color symbolizes natural wealth. Red color symbolizes the blood shed for the independence of Zambia. Black color represents the population of Zambia. Orange color symbolizes the country's wealth with mineral resources (primarily copper). The Eagle Screamer represents the elevation of the people of Zambia over government issues.

One of the few flags of the world where a territory map is used. Orange color indicates rich deposits of copper, found in Cyprus as far back as 3000 BC. e. Under the image of the island there are two branches of the olive tree, personifying both ethnic groups living in Cyprus - the Greeks and the Turks.

No7 Kiribati

Red color symbolizes the sky. The blue color symbolizes the Pacific Ocean, in which the islands of the country are located. Three white stripes symbolize the three island groups of the country: Gilbert Islands, Phoenix and Line. The rising sun symbolizes the tropical sun, as Kiribati is located on both sides of the equator. The 17 sunbeams symbolize the 16 islands in the Gilbert archipelago and the Banaba Islands. The frigate symbolizes power, freedom and cultural dance of Kiribati.

The dragon depicted on the flag symbolizes the local Tibetan name for Bhutan - the Land of the Dragon. He holds in his claws precious stones, symbolizing wealth. The yellow field symbolizes the theocratic monarchy, and the orange field - the Buddhist religion.

No5 Brazil

The flag of Brazil is a green cloth with a yellow diamond in the center. Inside the diamond is a dark blue circle with 27 white stars. The circle is crossed by a ribbon with the national motto of Brazil - “Ordem e Progresso” (from the port. “Order and progress”). Green and yellow are the national colors of Brazil. Green color symbolizes the forest riches of the Amazonia, and yellow - gold reserves: in the XVI-XIX centuries in Brazil were the world's largest gold mines.
The location of the stars on the flag depicts the sky over Rio de Janeiro in the morning at 9 hours 22 minutes 43 seconds November 15, 1889 - at the time of the proclamation of the Brazilian Republic. Each of the 26 states, as well as the Federal District, has its own star.

No4 Papua New Guinea

Five stars is the constellation Southern Cross, red and black colors are traditional for Papuan art, and the bird of paradise, depicted flying, is found almost only in New Guinea.

And the top three

No3 Switzerland

Unlike most other state flags, the flag of Switzerland has the shape of a square. It originates from the coat of arms of the canton Schwyz (one of the three cantons that formed the Swiss Confederation in 1291, together with Uri and Unterwalden).

The only non-rectangular national flag and one of two non-rectangular flags of sovereign education (the other is the flag of the State of Ohio, USA). The flag is a simplified combination of the pennants of the two branches of the Rana dynasty - the past rulers of the country. The blue color of the flag border symbolizes the world, and dark red is the national color of Nepal. The two royal symbols personify the hope that Nepal will exist as long as the sun and the moon.

Today it is the only one-color state flag in the world, without any additional details, drawings, inscriptions, etc. The green color of the flag symbolizes Islam, the state religion of the country, as well as the Green Revolution of Muammar Gaddafi.