The Flag of Canada

As of writing this post, it is July 1st, a.k.a. Canada Day. If there are any Canadian viewers, Happy Canada Day to you! I am honored to own and feature the flag of our Northern brothers and sisters on such a special occasion.

Canada’s natural landscapes and terrain so beautifully compliment it’s citizens and thriving cities. For me, Vancouver, British Columbia, is my first desired destination to visit Canada. Something about the look of it catches my eye when I see how the mountains and rolling hills meet up with the infrastructure.

Canada’s flag is a horizontal tricolor of red, white, red with a red maple leaf in the middle of the white square. The flag was originally based off of Canada’s Royal Military College flag. The colors of Red and White can also be representative of the United Kingdom and France, as both have an important role in Canadian history. The maple leaf in the middle has been a symbol of Canada since the 1700s and has been present on past national flags of Canada. Representing Canada’s natural resources, the maple leaf is easily the most recognizable symbol of the nation.

The National Flag of Canada, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

I am always open to flag requests for future posts. Just leave a comment on this post requesting a flag. When requesting, make sure the flag is either a modern national flag or a historical one. However, keep in mind that I already have a few flags waiting to be showcased, so it may be awhile before I can get to your request. Thank you.

The Flag of the United Kingdom

Why the UK?

I have always seen the UK has an easy place to travel to. I have never been there but it just seems like a popular destination for American tourists, especially since they’re also the origin of the English language. The flag of the UK, also called the Union Jack, has to be one of the most recognizable flags on the planet. As soon as you see this flag, you automatically think of Britain or one of the many countries that use the Union Jack as part of their national flag.

The Union Jack is simply a combination of three flags, from three of the four countries in the UK. The Scottish Flag incorporates the white St. Andrew’s Cross on a blue background. England’s flag is the red St. George’s Cross. The diagonal red lines on the flag are representative of Northern Ireland who uses Saint Patrick’s Cross. If you combine these three flags, you get the Union Jack. Wales is not represented on the flag (even though it’s still in the UK) because of historical reasons relating to how Wales used to be a part of the Kingdom of England.

National Flag of the United Kingdom, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

The Soviet Banner of Victory

Why?

I’m going to start this by saying, I’m not a communist. I also realize that the Soviet Union is controversial, especially here in the US. The flags that I own don’t represent my own views, I just collect them for fun. Great, now since that is out of the way, let me explain. So awhile back on my English flag post, a friend of mine, Dane (he’s got a blog too, go follow it, https://whatieat.home.blog/), requested me to feature the flag of the Soviet Union for historical reasons. As I was trying to find one, I remembered that Victory in Europe (VE) Day (also called Victory Day for Russia) was just a few days away (May 8th/9th). Quick note, VE Day and Victory Day celebrate the allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War 2. Anyways, I tried to find a way to honor that through this upcoming blog post. So I thought, what better way to feature the flag of the Soviet Union and victory over the Nazi’s than through this particular flag.

Alright so the National Flag of the Soviet Union is red, usually symbolizing worker’s revolutions as well as communism itself. There is also a golden sickle and hammer in the canton corner with a gold star above them. The sickle represents the agricultural workers while the hammer represents the industrial urban workers uniting. The golden star on top symbolizes the leading communist party, highlighting its authority over the workers.

The Soviet Victory Banner was hung over the Reichstag by the Red Army on May 2nd 1945, in the closing days of WWII in Europe. On the flag reads:

150th Rifle, Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class, Idritsa Division, 79th Rifle Corps, 3rd Shock Army, 1st Belorussian Front

What flag would you like to see next?

The Flag of Austria-Hungary

Why Austria-Hungary?

The reason I have this flag is because when I bought the Weimar-Era flag from a previous post, I was recommended this flag to go along with my purchase. I figured I would go ahead and pick it up to go along with my collection. I also think its cool that I own a flag that hasn’t been flown for over 100 years. This and my Qing Dynasty flag are the oldest historical ones I currently own, and for that aspect, i’m glad I bought it after all.

This flag of Austria-Hungary is known as the civil ensign and sometimes also called the war ensign. The flag isn’t as complicated as it looks actually. The red, white, red half of the flag represents Austria. The red, white, green, half represents Hungary. Both sides of the flag have their respective Coat of Arms for both monarchies of the empire. The Austrian Coat of Arms has the imperial crown on top, while the Hungarian Coat of Arms contains the crown of St. Stephen.

Flag of Austria-Hungary, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

The Marine Jack of the Weimar Republic

Why a Weimar-Era flag?

Originally, I was searching for a flag from the era of the German Empire. I had eventually found one and ordered it almost immediately. When it arrived, I opened the package and unfolded the flag. To my surprise, I had received this one instead. I guess the producers of the product shipped the wrong flag or maybe I mistakenly ordered the wrong flag. But either way, I can finally feature a historical German flag.

The Marine Jack of the Weimar Republic (also called the Jack of the Reichsmarine) features a similar design to the previous national flag of the German Empire. An iron cross (Black Cross) lays above, with the Weimar colors in the canton, upper left corner.

The Weimar Republic Armed Forces (Reichswehr) would have used this flag on naval ships, as well as a similar version as their official War Ensign.

Marine Jack of the Weimar Republic, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

The Flag of the Qing Dynasty

Why the Qing Dynasty?

First of all, I realize I am finally posting a historical flag to this blog. It has taken far too long for me to get around to my collection of these special flags. Anyways, the reason for owning this particular flag is quite simple actually. In the Japanese flag post, I mentioned that I took an Asian Humanities class during high school. For our China Unit, we first had to learn about and explore China’s extensive history. I remember that we were put into groups and assigned one of the many Chinese dynasties to create a poster and presentation for. I was handed a small paper with the title “Qing Dynasty” from my teacher. At first, I didn’t really think much of it but after doing research on it, and obviously looking at their flag, I felt pretty lucky that we were assigned this particular dynasty out of the many that China had.

I think this is one of the coolest historical flags I’ve seen. I’ve always admired how many Asian cultures incorporate animals, and dragons specifically, into them. I feel like it adds a sense of identification and uniqueness to their countries and religions.

The flag of the Qing Dynasty is yellow, with a blue Chinese (East Asian) dragon, along with a flaming pearl in front of the dragon’s head. During the time, yellow represented royalty, as only emperors were allowed to display the color yellow inside of buildings and on banners. The Chinese dragon is viewed as a symbol of strength and imperial power. The flaming red pearl in front of the dragon represents wealth, wisdom, enlightenment, good luck, and prosperity, in Chinese culture.

Flag of the Qing Dynasty, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

The Flag of Australia

Why Australia?

Australia has always been a country that I’ve wanted to visit. From an outside perspective, Australia’s cities look beautiful, primarily Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The natural beauty of Australia’s sub-tropical and tropical zones are also quite intriguing. Tasmania, of course, seems to appear as a fantasy world of greenery and plants.

The Australian Flag is blue featuring a Union Jack in the canton corner representing Australia’s history of British settlements and colonies. To the right of the Union Jack is the Southern Cross constellation. These five stars an be seen easily in the Southern hemisphere of the planet, and is also featured on the flags of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, and Samoa. The star directly below the Union Jack is the Commonwealth Star, not only representing its association with the Commonwealth nations but also symbolizing Australia’s six states and it’s territories.

I personally love Australia’s flag, the layout and symbolic significance of it’s stars clearly represent Australia… unless you confuse it with New Zealand’s flag. Just remember that New Zealand’s flag has four red stars and no Commonwealth star.

National Flag of Australia, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

The Flag of Norway

Why Norway?

I’m posting the Norwegian flag because my friend, Mason, recommended that I feature it. Mason has been extremely interested in Norway’s beautiful land and culture for a long time now. He found out he had Scandinavian ancestry in his family a few years back.

The Norwegian flag belongs to the Nordic/Scandinavian Cross family of flags. Their flag is red with a blue cross outlined with white. The colors are said to be based off of the French tricolor design, often associated with liberty or freedom. The red and blue can also be representative of Norway’s past union and trade partners, Denmark and Sweden.

I really admire how Norway’s flag follows the tradition of the Nordic/Scandinavian Cross. I feel like it creates a special, physical bond between Norway and its neighbors, seen almost nowhere else in the world.

National Flag of Norway, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see next?

The Flag of the Philippines

Why the Philippines?

A few of my friends have requested that I feature the Filipino flag. Two of them have Filipino ancestry. I also accepted their request because I believe that the flag is quite visually appealing. The flag maintains lot of detail while not being overcrowded and complicated.

The Filipino flag consists of a blue stripe on top standing for peace, justice, and truth. A red stripe is on the bottom symbolizing valor and patriotism. The flag also has a white triangle on the left side (hoist side) of the flag representing liberty, equality, and fraternity. Within the triangle, is a central golden sun with eight sun rays, representing the provinces of the country that fought significantly during the Philippine Revolution against Spain. At each corner of the triangle is a star. These three stars represent the main island groups of the Philippines. During times of war, the flag has a unique feature where the red stripe is actually on the top rather than the blue one.

The flag of the Philippines is rich with meaning, geographical significance, and history.

The Flag of the Philippines, displayed vertically.

What flag would you like to see in the future?

The Flag of Japan

Brief History

Although the exact origin of the flag is unknown, it can be traced back to the 6-7th centuries in Japan’s long history. In Japanese religion and culture, the sun plays an important rule. The emperor of Japan is believed to be a direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. Japan has been represented by the symbolic sun all throughout history. In 1870, the flag was adopted by merchant and naval ships as a civil ensign. The modern flag of Japan was adopted nationally in August of 1999.

Why Japan?

The reason for posting the Japanese flag is because of an experience I had during my junior year of high school (11th grade). My school requires that every student attend some sort of humanities class, which is a great idea in my opinion. I had the option to choose between African humanities, Asian humanities, and Classical humanities. I decided to pick Asian humanities because a lot of previous students of that class recommended it to me. Being somewhat ignorant on Asia, I didn’t really know what to expect besides simply learning about Asia. But by the end of the semester, I had a completely different mindset.

Following India and China, our last unit was in fact, Japan. We were assigned to prepare a presentation on anything about Japanese culture, history, or life. I remember specifically researching the Samurai, the ancient warriors of Japan. I, along with all my classmates, presented our topics. I recall learning about many different aspects of Japan: Food, Sumo Wrestling, Hotels, Art, Ninjas, Music, Technology, Desserts, Shintoism, Cities, and much more. Thanks to all these presentations and the instructor, it became one of favorite classes in high school. The Japan unit just really stood out to me and allowed me to get a glimpse of what Japan was like.

The flag of Japan, officially nicknamed Nisshōki and Hinomaru (meaning circle of the sun), is quite simple and elegant. The red rising sun is undoubtedly a significant symbol of Japan and it’s nickname “land of the rising sun” as the island is East of the mainland Asian continent and thus sees the sunrise first. The white background represents purity, integrity, and the honesty of the Japanese people. Their flag shows us that even with such a simplistic design, it can still be representative of an entire nation and it’s culture.