(Redirected from Flags)
A 'flag' is a piece of woven
cloth, often flown from a
pole or
mast, generally used
symbolically for signalling or identification. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the
graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.
The first flags were used to assist military coordination on battlefields and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is similarly challenging (such as the maritime environment where
semaphore is used). National flags are potent patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original and ongoing military uses. Flags are used in messaging,
advertising, or for other decorative purposes, though at this less formal end the distinction between a flag and a simple
cloth banner is blurred. The study of flags is known as
vexillology, from the
Latin ''vexillum'' meaning flag or
banner.
History
Although flag-like symbols were used in some ancient cultures, the origin of flags in the modern sense is a matter of dispute. Some believe flags originated in
China, while others hold that the
Roman Empire's ''
vexillum'' was the first true flag. Originally, the standards of the
Roman legions were not flags, but symbols like the
eagle of
Augustus Caesar's
Xth legion; this eagle would be placed on a staff for the standard-bearer to hold up during battle. But a military unit from
Scythia had for a standard a
dragon with a flexible tail which would move in the
wind; the legions copied this; eventually all the legions had flexible standards — our modern-day flag.
During the
Middle Ages, flags were used mainly during battles to identify individual leaders: in
Europe the
knights, in
Japan the
samurai, and in
China the
generals under the imperial army.
From the time of
Christopher Columbus onwards, it has been customary (and later a legal requirement) for ships to carry flags designating their nationality; these flags eventually evolved into the national flags and
maritime flags of today. Flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals; ''see
International maritime signal flags''.
As European knights were replaced by centralized
armies, flags became the means to identify not just nationalities but also individual military units. Flags became much more elaborate, and were seen as objects to be captured or defended. Eventually these flags posed too much danger to those carrying them, and by
World War I these were withdrawn from the battlefields, and have since been used only at ceremonial occasions.
National flags
Main articles: National flag
One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a
nation or
country. Some
national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include:
★ The
flag of
Denmark is the oldest
state flag still in use. This flag, called the
Dannebrog, inspired the
cross design of the other
Nordic countries:
Norway,
Sweden,
Finland,
Iceland, and regional flags for the
Faroe Islands,
Ã…land, and
Scania.
★ The
Union Flag (Union Jack) of the
United Kingdom. British colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history. ''Examples'':
Australia,
Fiji,
New Zealand,
Tuvalu, and also the Canadian provinces of
Manitoba and
Ontario, and the American state of
Hawaii; see ''
Gallery of flags based on British ensigns''.
★ The
Tricolor of
The Netherlands is the oldest
tricolour, first appearing in 1572 as the Prince's Flag in
orange–
white–
blue. Soon the more famous
red–white–blue began appearing — it is however unknown why, though many stories are known. After 1630 the red–white–blue was the most commonly seen flag. The Dutch Tricolor has inspired many flags but most notably those of
Russia,
India and
France, which spread the tricolor concept even further, as can be seen below. The Flag of
the Netherlands is also the only flag in the world that is adapted for some uses, when the occasion has a connection to the royal house of the Netherlands an orange ribbon is added.
★ The
national flag of
France, also called the
Tricolore, which inspired other nations to adopt differenced
tricolours in sympathy with the revolutionary spirit with which the flag was designed in 1794. ''Examples'' among many:
Costa Rica,
Ireland,
Italy,
Romania,
Mexico.
★ The
flag of the
United States, also nicknamed ''The Stars and Stripes'' or ''Old Glory''. In the same way that nations looked to France for inspiration, many countries were also inspired by the
American Revolution, which they felt was symbolized in this flag. ''Examples'':
Cuba,
Liberia,
Chile,
Uruguay, and the French region of
Brittany.
★ The
flag of
Russia, the source for the
Pan-Slavic colors adopted by many
Slavic states and peoples as their symbols. ''Examples'':
Slovakia,
Serbia,
Croatia,
Slovenia.
★
Ethiopia was seen as a model by emerging
African states of the
1950s and
1960s, as it was one of the oldest independent states in Africa. Accordingly, its
flag became the source of the
Pan-African colours. ''Examples'':
Togo,
Senegal,
Ghana,
Mali.
★ The
flag of
Turkey, which was the flag of the
Ottoman Empire, has been an inspiration for the flag designs of many other Muslim nations. During the time of the Ottomans the
crescent began to be associated with
Islam and this is reflected on the flags of
Algeria,
Azerbaijan,
Comoros,
Malaysia,
Mauritania,
Pakistan,
Tunisia, and of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
★ The
Pan-Arab colors,
green,
white,
red and
black, are derived from the flag of the
Great Arab Revolt as seen on the flags of
Jordan,
Kuwait,
Sudan,
Syria, the
United Arab Emirates,
Western Sahara,
Egypt,
Iraq,
Yemen and
Palestine.
★ The
Soviet flag, with its golden symbols of the
hammer and sickle on a red field, was an inspiration to flags of other
communist states, such as
East Germany,
People's Republic of China,
Vietnam,
Angola,
Afghanistan and
Mozambique.
★ The
flag of
Venezuela, created by
Francisco de Miranda to represent the independence movement in Venezuela that later gave birth to the
"Gran Colombia", inspired the individual flags of
Colombia,
Ecuador and
Bolivia, all sharing three bands of color and three of them (Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela) sharing the
yellow,
blue and
red.
★ The
flag of
Argentina, created by
Manuel Belgrano during the war of independence, was the inspiration for the
United Provinces of Central America's flag, which in turn was the origin for the flags of
Guatemala,
Honduras,
El Salvador, and
Nicaragua.
National flag designs are often used to signify nationality in other forms, such as
flag patches.
War flags
Main articles: War flag
German troops after surrendering to the U.S. Third Army. The first soldier carries a white flag (
WW2 photo).
Several countries (including the
United Kingdom and the former
Nazi Germany) have unique flags flown by their
armed forces, rather than the
national flag.
Other countries' armed forces (such as those of the
United States or
Switzerland) use their standard national flag. The
Philippines' armed forces may use their standard national flag, but during times of war the flag is turned upside down. These are also considered war flags, though the terminology only applies to the flag's military usage.
Large versions of the war flag flown on the
warships of countries'
navies are known as
battle ensigns. In war waving a
white flag indicates surrender.
Flags at sea
Main articles: Maritime flag
The international maritime signal flag ''Delta'' (letter ''D'')
Flags are particularly important at sea, where they can mean the difference between life and death, and consequently where the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced. A national flag flown at sea is known as an
ensign. A courteous, peaceable
merchant ship or
yacht customarily flies its ensign (in the usual ensign position), together with the flag of whatever nation it is currently visiting at the mast (known as a
courtesy flag). To fly one's ensign alone in foreign waters, a foreign port or in the face of a foreign warship traditionally indicates a willingness to fight, with
cannon, for the right to do so.
As of 2006, this custom is still taken seriously by many naval and port authorities and is readily enforced in many parts of the world by boarding, confiscation and other civil penalties.
In some countries yacht ensigns are different from merchant ensigns in order to signal that the yacht is not carrying
cargo that requires a
customs declaration. Carrying commercial cargo on a boat with a yacht ensign is deemed to be
smuggling in many jurisdictions.
There is a system of
international maritime signal flags for numerals and letters of the alphabet. Each flag or
pennant has a specific meaning when flown individually.
As well,
semaphore flags can be used to communicate on an ''ad hoc'' basis from ship to ship over short distances.
Shape and design
Main articles: Gallery of flags by design
Flags are usually rectangular in shape (often in the ratio 2:3 or 3:5), but may be of any shape or size that is practical for flying, including square, triangular, or swallowtailed. A more unusual flag shape is that of the
flag of Nepal, which is in the shape of two stacked triangles.
Many flag merchants prey on unwary buyers by offering incorrect flags, such as with the wrong proportions, crudely drawn, or one-sided. Some reference materials alter the flag proportions so they look uniform, such as decades of editions of the annual ''
World Almanac and Book of Facts''.
Many flags are dyed
through and through to be inexpensive to manufacture, such that the reverse side is the
mirror image of the obverse (front) side. This presents two possibilities:
#If the design is
symmetrical in an axis parallel to the flag pole, obverse and reverse will be identical despite the mirror-reversal.
#If not, the obverse and reverse will present two variants of the same design, one with the hoist on the left, the other with the hoist on the right. This is very common and usually not disturbing if there is no text in the design.
Some complex flag designs are not intended for through and through implementation, requiring separate obverse and reverse sides if made correctly. In these cases there is a design element (usually text) which is not symmetric and should be read in the same direction, regardless of whether the hoist is to the viewer's left or right. These cases can be divided into two types:
#The same (asymmetric) design may be duplicated on both sides. Such flags can be manufactured by creating two identical through and through flags and then sewing them back to back, though this can affect the resulting combination's responsiveness to the wind. Depictions of such flags may be marked with the symbol
IFIS Equal.png
, indicating the reverse is congruent to (rather than a mirror image of) the obverse.
#Rarely, the reverse design may differ, in whole or in part, from that of the obverse. Examples are the
national flag of Paraguay, the
flag of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the historical
national flag of the Soviet Union. Depictions of such flags may be marked with the symbol
IFIS Two-sided.png
.
Common designs on flags include crosses, stripes, and divisions of the surface, or ''field'', into bands or quarters — patterns and principles mainly derived from
heraldry. A heraldic coat of arms may also be flown as a ''
banner of arms'', as is done on both the state
flag of Maryland and the
flag of Kiribati.
The
flag of Libya, which consists of a rectangular field of green, is the only national flag using a single color and no design or insignia.
Religious flags
Flags can play many different roles in religion. In
Buddhism,
prayer flags are used, usually in sets of five differently colored flags. Many
national flags and other flags include religious symbols such as the cross, the crescent, or a reference to a patron saint. Flags are also adopted by religious groups and flags such as the
Jain flag and the
Christian flag are used to represent a whole religion.
In sports
Flags flown on a beach.
Because of their ease of signalling and identification, flags are often used in
sports.
★ In
American and
Canadian football,
referees use flags to indicate an error has been made in game play. The phrase used for such an indication is ''flag on the play''. The flag itself is a small, weighted handkerchief, tossed on the field at the approximate point of the infraction; the intent is usually to sort out the details after the current play from scrimmage has concluded. In American football, the flag is usually yellow; in Canadian football, it is usually red.
★ In
auto and
motorcycle racing,
racing flags are used to communicate with drivers. Most famously, a checkered flag of black and white indicates the end of the race, and victory for the leader. A yellow flag is used to indicate caution requiring slow speed and a red flag requires racers to stop immediately. A black flag is used to indicate penalties.
★ In
Association football (soccer),
linesmen carry small flags along the touch lines. They use the flags to indicate to the
referee potential infringements of the laws, or who is entitled to possession of the ball that has gone out of the field of play, or, most famously, raise the flag overhead to indicate an
offside offence. Officials called ''touch judges'' use flags for similar purposes in both codes of
rugby.
★ In addition, fans of almost all sports wave flags in the stands to indicate their support for the participants. Many sports teams have their own flags, and, in individual sports, fans will indicate their support for a player by waving the flag of his or her home country.
★
Capture the flag is a popular children's sport.
★ In
Gaelic football and
Hurling a green flag is use to indictate a goal while a white flag is used to indicate a point
★ In
Australian rules football, the
goal umpire will wave two flags to indicate a goal and a single flag to indicate a point.
★ For safety,
dive flags indicate the locations of underwater
scuba divers.
★ In water sports such as Wakeboarding and Water-Skiing, an orange flag is held inbetween runs to indicate someone is in the water.
Swimming flags
Open swimming area
Closed swimming area
In
Australia,
New Zealand,
Philippines, and the
United Kingdom a pair of red/yellow flags is used to mark the limits of the bathing area on a beach, usually guarded by
surf lifesavers. If the beach is closed, the poles of the flags are crossed. The flags are colored with a red triangle and a yellow triangle making a rectangular flag, or a red rectangle over a yellow rectangle. On many Australian beaches there is a slight variation with beach condition signalling. A red flag signifies a closed beach (or, in the UK, some other danger), yellow signifies strong current or difficult swimming conditions, and green represents a beach safe for general swimming. Blue flags may also be used away from the yellow-red lifesaver area to designate a zone for surfboarding and other small, non-motorised watercraft.
Reasons for closing the beach include:
★ no lifeguards in attendance
★ waves too strong
★ dangerous rip
★ sharks
★ tsunami
★ hurricane warning
A surf flag exists, divided into four quadrants. The top left and bottom right quadrants are black, and the remaining area is white.
Signal flag "India" (a black circle on a yellow square) is frequently used to denote a "blackball" zone where surfboards cannot be used but other water activities are permitted.
Railway flags
Railways use a number of colored flags. When used as wayside signals they usually use the following meanings (exact meanings are set by the individual railroad company):
★ red = stop
★ yellow = proceed with care
★ green or white or blue = proceed.
★ a flag of any color waved vigorously means stop
★ A blue flag on the side of a locomotive means that it should not be moved because someone is working on it (or on the train attached to it). A blue flag on a track means that nothing on that track should be moved. The flag can only be removed by the person or group that placed it.
At night, the flags are replaced with lanterns showing the same colors.
Flags displayed on the front of a moving locomotive are an acceptable replacement for classification lights and usually have the following meanings (exact meanings are set by the individual railroad company):
★ white = extra (not on the timetable)
★ green = another section following
★ red = last section
Additionally, a railroad brakeman will typically carry a red flag to make his or her hand signals more visible to the engineer.
Railway signals are a development of railway flags.
In politics
The Rainbow flag of the LGBT social movement.
Social and political movements have adopted flags, to increase their visibility and as a unifying symbol.
The
socialist movement uses
red flags to represent their cause. The
anarchism movement has a variety of different flags, but the primary flag associated with them is the
black flag. In the 1970s, the
rainbow flag was adopted as a symbol of the
LGBT social movements.
Bisexual and
transgender pride flags were later designed, in an attempt to emulate the rainbow flag's success.
Flagpoles
A flagpole or flagstaff can be a simple support made of wood or metal. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The flag is fixed to one lower end of the cord, and is then raised by pulling on the other end. The cord is then tightened and tied to the pole at the bottom. The pole is usually topped by a flat plate called a "truck" (originally meant to keep a wooden pole from splitting) or by a ball or a
finial in a more complex shape.
The 'Aqaba Flagpole', the tallest free-standing flagpole
Very high flagpoles may require more complex support structures than a simple pole, such as guy wires, or need be built as a mast. The 'highest flagpole' in the world, at 160 metres (525 feet), is that at
Gijeong-dong in
North Korea, the flag weighing about 270 kilograms (600 pounds) when dry. The world's 'biggest regularly hoisted flag', however, is the Brazilian national flag flown in the Square of the Three Powers in
Brasilia, the capital of
Brazil. This flag weighs about 600 kilograms (1300 pounds) when dry and measures 70×100 metres (230x330 feet). It can be seen from all parts of Brasilia and its flagpole is the tallest structure in the city.
The 'tallest free-standing flagpole' in the world is the
Aqaba Flagpole in
Aqaba,
Jordan, with a total height of 132 meters (430 feet). The
Raghadan Flagpole, also in Jordan, is the second tallest free-standing flagpole in the world. It reaches a height of 126 meters (410 feet) and hoists a flag that measures 60 by 40 meters (200 by 130 feet); it is illuminated at night and can be seen from 25 km (16 miles) away.
Design
Flagpoles can be designed in one piece with a taper (typically a cone taper or a
Venetian/
Greek entasis taper)
[1], or be made from multiple pieces so as to make them extendable.
In the United States, ANSI/NAAMM guide specification FP-1001-97 covers the engineering design of metal flagpoles to ensure safety.
See also
;Lists and galleries of flags
★
Gallery of flags by design
★
Gallery of confusable flags
★
List of flags
★
Gallery of sovereign state flags
★
List of flag names
★
Unofficial flags
;Notable flag-related topics
★
Flag Patch
★
Flag Day
★
Flag desecration
★
Flag etiquette
★
Flag terminology
★
Flag throwing
★
Flagpole annexation
★
Pledge of Allegiance
★
Standard-bearer (also enumerates various types of standards, both flag types and immobile ensigns)
★
Vexillology
;Miscellaneous
★
Jolly Roger
★
Petrosomatoglyph Symbols and prehistory
References
★ William G. Crampton; ''The World of Flags''; Rand McNally; ISBN 0-528-83720-6 (hardcover,
1994).
★ ''Ultimate Pocket Flags of the World'';
Dorling Kindersley; ISBN 0-7894-2085-6; (1st American edition, hardcover,
1996).
Notes
1. [1]
External links
★
fotw.net,
Flags of the World, an outstanding source of vexillological information, contributed to by a group of international volunteers.
★
Cyber-flag (french site)
★
World Flag Database
★
The Flag Institute (UK)
★
NAVA: North American Vexillological Association
★
Flags of the world in vector format
★
Flag news and views
★
Free flag icons for all countries of the world
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