The Interesting World of Flags
by George Pascatt
http://www.flagfx.com
For centuries discoverers have been planting flags to
signal that their claim a new land. Now every country in
the world has its own design. Flags originated as
vexilloids, which were decorated staffs that soldiers
carried into battle. Early ones were decorated with symbols
to identify the groups the soldiers represented, and set
them apart from the others. Over time silk and other
fabrics were added to these staffs, thus the birth of flags
as we know them.
Throughout the history of mankind, flags have been used to
signify different things such as civilizations, ideas,
groups, and nations. It was only in the eighteenth century
that flags were initially used to symbolize a nation. Today,
every country in the world has their own flag. These flags
have symbols that the country men relate to and hold with
pride close to their hearts as a cherished possession.
The flag of the United States of America first stood for
the original thirteen states. Each state was represented by
a star and there were stripes in the body, thus its name
stars and stripes. Since 1777 the flag was continually
being revised, but in 1960 when Hawaii became the 50th
state in the USA, the flag was completed.
The flag of United Kingdom or Great Britain is also known as
the Union Jack. The flag which has been the official symbol
since 1801, symbolizes the three unification of three
different countries; England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Currently, the Union Jack represents Northern Ireland, as
the rest of Ireland became its own state in 1920. A novel
observation is that the Union Jack itself forms a part of
the flag of some nations - Australia for one.
The Canadian flag has a red maple leaf flanked by stripes of
red. Despite the fact that the maple leaf was a Canadian
symbol for many years, the design of the current flag was
officially adopted only in 1965. The two stripes represent
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that flank the country.
Barbados's flag is also filled with symbolism. It bears two
blue stripes that stand for the ocean and sky. The yellow
center represents the beaches. There is an interesting
story about the trident in the center. The trident
symbolizes Neptune, and their trident is broken to
emphasize that Barbados split from Great Britain in 1966.
The flag became official at that time.
The Israeli flag has blue and white stripes. They are the
same color used in Jewish prayer shawls. The Star of David
takes up the center, another familiar Jewish religious
symbol. Their flag became official in 1948.
All flags are rich in heritage, steeped in history,
symbolism, and very often religion. There are many flags
that have religious sayings or symbols on them. Sometimes,
flags go through a transformation owing to shift in
territories shift and creation of new nations. The flags of
the United Nations and the European Union are two new flags
in this impressive galaxy.
People love their national flags and are proud of what they
express. The flag tells who the people are and what they
value. Flags have proudly flown for thousands of years and
will continue to fly throughout the world forever.
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