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Every country in the world has its own flag. Flags were used when a new land was discovered. Whoever first discovered it would plant their flag to signify their claim to the land. Flags came from the use of staffs or vexilloids, most commonly used to lead men into battle. These staffs were decorated with symbols and other items, giving the soldiers a unified feeling. Later these staffs were adorned with silk and other types of material, making them resemble the flags we see today. 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 flag of the United States of America is also known as the stars and stripes. This flag was completed in 1960 when Hawaii joined the USA. Until then it had been constantly revised since 1777. 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. 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 is made up of a red maple leaf and red stripes. The maple leaf was a Canadian symbol for many years, and the flag bearing it became official in 1965. The stripes stand for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans which border the country on each side. Another very interesting flag is from Barbados. It is represented by a yellow center that signifies the beaches of Barbados flanked by two stripes of blue on either side which represent the ocean and the sky. The center also has a broken trident which represents Neptune. The break symbolizes the splitting of Barbados from Britain in 1966. 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. 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 are important to the people that live in each nation, to them it is a symbol of who they are and what is important to their nation. Flags have been used for centuries as a type of identification and shall for many years to come.
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About the author: George Pascatt is the proprietor of Flag FX, the #1 source on the internet when you're looking for fresh up to date advice and reviews to do with Flags. For more articles on Flags visit: www.flagfx.com/articles You can swap links with us by going to: www.flagfx.com/links Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.
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