The History Of Flags From Around The World

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.

Flags have been used for centuries to signify different things. They can be used to signify civilizations, ideas, groups, and nations. Flags were not used to symbolize a nation until the eighteenth century. Today, every nation has their own flag, each rich with symbolism. This symbolism often only means something to the inhabitants of that nation.

The stars and stripes, the national flag of the United states of America reached its current form in 1960 when Hawaii joined the USA. The flag was conceived in 1777 and since then has seen various transformations. The stripes symbolize the first 13 states that made up the USA and each state is represented by a star, thus showing 50 stars on the flag. This symbolizes the unity of all states.

Great Britain's flag is known as the Union Jack. In 1801 it was designated as the official flag of the country. Their flag symbolizes its three united countries of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In 1920 Ireland split and now the Union Jack represents only Northern Ireland. The familiar Union Jack also appears on other flags including Australia.

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.

The flag of Barbados is an interesting one. It is represented by two stripes of blue on either side which represent the ocean and the sky, and the center which is yellow represents Barbados' beaches. The interesting part is the trident in the center, which represents Neptune. The trident is broken, which symbolizes Barbados' split from Britain in 1966 when the flag was made official.

Jewish values are prominently displayed to the world on the flag of Israel. The flag that became official in 1948, has blue and white stripes which represent a type of Jewish shawl used for prayers. The flag also has the Star of David in the center.

Every flag in the world is steeped in history, symbolism, and quite often religion. Some flags have religious sayings or symbols on it, showing the values of that particular nation. New flags are created occasionally, as territories shift, and nations combine. Two fairly new flags that are easily recognizable are the flags for the United Nations and the European Union.

Flags have been used for centuries as a symbol of identification and play an important step in bringing people together. The people of a nation identify themselves with their national flag which is a symbol of pride, "belongingness", identity and independence.

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About the author: George Pascatt is the your host at Flag FX, the best place on the internet when you're after fresh up to date advice and comment to do with Flags. For questions or comments about this article visit: www.flagfx.com/articles
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