Red, White and Blue as flag colors
One day I suddenly noticed that many flags of the worls bear the colors red, white and blue. In fact, they seemed to be the most popular colors for national flags out there. Countries everywhere in the world, with the most different cultures and histories share the three colors which are also the ones of my home state. I began to investigate whether there might be a general connection or common symbolism.
In a lot of cases a connection can indeed be found, for example with flags actively imitating the colors of the French Revolution or those developed from flags of former British colonies. But these are individual connections, I could not find a general symbolism, though sometimes the colors stand for similar things.
During my investigation, I informed myself about a lot of flags from all around the world, you can read about all of them seperately below.
In many flags the color blue stands for bravery or courage, strength, hope or faith, white for innocence, purity or Religion and red often stands for blood, for example blood spilt in the fight for independence.
Sometimes the colors also represent the nature of the country like the sea, the sky or snow.
Europe
French Republic
The flag of the French Republic is probably the most prominent and important of all red-white and blue flags. Many revolutionary movements of the 19th century copied the colors of the big revolution which is the mother of the democratic movements of the following century.
The flag was officially introduced in 1794, but the colors had been in use since the beginning of the revolution in 1789. All that was done in 1794 is making the vertical arrangement official.
Meaning of the colors:
Blue and red were the colors of the city of Paris, the capital of France and due to the centralized nature of the country the most important stage of the revolution.
White was the color of the royal house of Bourbon which ruled the country until 1793, long after the initial outbreak of the revolution.
Greek Republic
The contemporary Greek flag was first used in 1969-1975 and again since 1978. The symbol of the cross and the colors have remained the same though.
The cross resembles the Greek Orthodox Church which has a long tradition in the country and has had a big influence on the culture. The nine stripes resemple the nine syllables of the motto during the fight for independence: Ε-λευ-θε-ρί-α ή Θά-να-τος (Freedom or Death).
Meaning of the colors :
There are different theories:
1. They represent the sky and the sea
2. White is said to resemble the purity of the fight for independence.
The Netherlands
The Dutch flag was created during the indepence war against Spain. Back then it was orange, white and blue but later the orange was replaced by red, allegedly because the orange color was hard to identify at sea and the natural coloring material was prone to being washed out of the cloth. Both are big problems for a seafaring nation like The Netherlands. When revolutionary France occupied the country in 1795 the red color became official so the flag demonstrated the connection of the newly founded republic with France.
Meaning of the colors :
Orange, white and blue were the colors of the royal family of Oranje-Nassau, the kings and queens of The Netherlands.
Orange remains the Dutch national color, even though it is not present in the flag anymore.
The flag of Aruba, a former Dutch colony, takes its colors from those of the motherland.
Russian Federation
1883-1917 and since 1991 this is the official Russian national flag.
Meaning of the colors :
The colors allegedly stem from the former coat of arms of Moscow, which developed into the Russian nation. Blue, white and red are the international colors of Pan-Slavism, a 19th and 20th century movement with the goal of bringing all Slavs together in one country. Basically all Slavic countries share these colors, for example Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The so-called Union Jack was developed in two steps. When England and Scotland formed a Union in 1606, the flags of the two countries were merged into the first Union Jack. When Ireland was made a part of the UK in 1801, its flag was also merged into the Union Jack as we know it today.
The flag of England shows a Saint George's Cross which is one of the oldest symbols used for England. The symbol and the colors are said to be from the crusades (compare it to the cross of the Templar Knights)
The Scottish flag takes its colors from an old story in which the Scottish king Hungus had been surrounded by enemies during a battle. That night, the apostle Andrew appeared and told Hungus that he would win the battle. The next day, the (white) clouds in the sky formed a Saint Andrew's Cross and Hungus' army won the battle.
The (old) Irish flag shows the Saint Patrick's Cross, a red Saint Andrew's Cross on a white background.
British colonies & Commonwealth of Nations
Many former colonies and members of the Commonwealth (a union of now independent British colonies) use so-called Ensigns. Those are flags which show the Union Jack in the upper left corner while the other three quarters have a certain color, which made identifying the flag bearer easier. The Red Ensign (with the three quarters red) is the merchant flag of the UK, the White Ensign is used in naval war. The Blue Ensign used to be used by the British Royal Navy until 1865, when colonies were given permission to use it with their own coat of arms or a symbol as means of identification. This lead to many now independent nations still using Blue Ensigns as national flags.
The Falkland IslandsAustralia
The Australian flag is like those of many other former British colonies a "Blue Ensign" (see above) bearing the Union Jack in the upper left corner. Below it is a star with seven jags representing the seven territories and states. In the right half of the flag, away from the flagpole, five smaller stars form the Southern Cross, a formation of stars that can only be seen on the southern hemisphere. It is used by many countries in Oceania in their flags.
The flag's design is the winner of a contest in the year 1901.
New Zealand
The flag of New Zealand looks almost like that of the big neighbor, Australia. The Union Jack in the upper left corner shows the affiliation with Great Britain, the Southern Cross on the right half is the symbol of identification for the country. The stars have a different design than those in the Australian flag to prevent confusion.
Kingdom of Denmark
The so-called Dannebrog is said to have fallen from the sky in a battle. In fact, the banner is the oldest national flag in Europe and the prototype for the flags of the other countries in Scandinavia. The flag probably didn't just fall from the sky but has its roots in the red banner the Vikings used to fly during attack, like the Jolly Roger of Carribbean pirates. The white cross was probably added when Christianity spread in Denmark.
Kingdom of Norway
The Norwegian flag was made by adding a blue cross on top of the white one in the Danish flag. By doing this the flag should show a connection to France (see above).
Republic of Iceland
Like all Scandinavian flags the Icelandic one was modelled after the Danish banner. This is the most obvious way of the Scandinavian countries to demonstrate their affiliation and connection.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue is the color of the Atlantic ocean as well as the sky above Iceland.
White resembles the glaciers covering a good part of the island.
Red resembles the volcanoes determining Icelandic landscape and life. After all, Iceland is the world's largest volcanic island.
Faroe Islands (Føroyar)
With Iceland just some 300 miles away, the people of the Faroe islands became jealous when the big neighbor got its own flag in 1915, leaving them with the wish for their own flag.
In 1919 Faroese students in Copenhagen designed this flag which was first hoisted on the islands that same year.
The British occupied the Faroe Islands in 1940 and after they left the flag was internationally recognized in 1948.
Republic of Finland
The Finnish flag was designed in 1870 and introduced in 1918 or 1920.
Meaning of the colors:
Blue represents the lakes of Finalnd
White stands for the snow
America
Canada
While the Canadian flag does not include blue it is still very interesting for the topic of this page.
Until 1965 Canada used a Red Ensign (see above). After the countries' bonds with the motherland became less strong after World War 2 the Canadian people started discussing the issue of a new flag, one that did not bear the Union Jack anymore. Most of the proposed version were actually red white and blue, but eventually the parliamental committee decided on the version we know today. It was officially approved by the Queen and introduced in February 1965.
The maple leaf represents the natural treasures of the world's second largest country and had been a symbol of identification with Canada for quite a while. Of some 3,500 proposed flag designs, more than 2,000 included the maple leaf. The two red fields on both sides are said to represent the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Meaning of the flags :
The red is a remain from the formerly used Red Ensign. Officially, it shall also remind of the soldiers fallen in World War 1.
The white resembles the arctic snow.
Blue, not included in the flag, is the color of identification by the francophone Canadians, who mostly live in Quebec. The flag of this province is white and blue.
The Canadians seem to be very into their flag which is why new designs seem to be proposed once in a while. The French Canadians have never liked the fact that "their" color, blue, is not included in the national flag, making them feel left out. I posted an interesting design which basically leaves the flag as it is but nicely includes blue to make the flag represent the French speaking population equally well.
United States of America
The stars and stripes are one of the best known flags bearing the colors red, white and blue. Once because it can be seen in military camps all over the third world but also because Americans get basically obsessed with their flag, showing it everywhere as part of remarkable patriotism.
It is indeed a special flag. The very first design was developed from a British "Ensign" (see above), showing the Union Jack in the upper left corner. During the Independence War the flag of the enemy was removed and replaced by the blue field with thirteen stars. It surprises me little that the colors of a flag so loved by it's people have gotten their own meanings:
Meaning of the colors :
Blue stands for awareness, persistence and justice.
White represents purity and innocence and
red is a signal for bravery and resilence.
In the upper left corner is a blue field with white stars - each star represents one state. Whenever a new state joins, a new flag is introduced on July 4th of the following year. The last time this happened was in 1960 when Hawaii had become a state. Right now there are 50 stars designs for flags with more stars are already worked on.
The thirteen red and white stripes stand for the thirteen colonies declaring independence in 1776.
American Samoa is a part of the US overseas territories, a kind of a colony. The flag was designed in 1960 and is based on the US flag.
The Marshall Islands, also an overseas territoriy of the USA.
Dominican Republic
After becoming independent from Haiti in 1844, the Dominican Republic adopted a flag that had already been used in the underground, showing the flag of Haiti with a white cross laid on top. For aesthetical reasons the red and blue sections were later rearranged to the current checker-board pattern.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue is the color of independence.
The white cross stands for the faith of the people.
Red is for the blood spilt in the fight for independence.
Republic of Cuba / Puerto Rico
The flags for Cuba and Puerto Rico are virtually the same, only the colors are interchanged. The Cuban flag takes its colors to demonstrate closeness to the United States since during the war for independence the idea of joining the USA was pursued by the rich tycoons of the island.
In its own fight for independence Puerto Rico adopted the Cuban flag, merely switching the red and blue colors.
Republic of Costa Rica
The country had already gotten its name from Christoph Columbus, but had to wait for independence until 1821. The flag used today wasn't adopted until 1906. The colors are those of the Central American Union to which Costa Rica belonged until 1838. Ten years later, as a tribute to the revolutionary events in France, the blue became darker and red was incorporated.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue: the blue stripes represent the Carribbean sea and the Pacific Ocean, which Costa Rica separates from each other.
White and red stand for the land bridge of Central America on which Costa Rica lies.
Republic of Panama
Panama was founded in 1903 and has had this flag ever since. The fields and stars represent the two political parties.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue stands for the conservative party, red for the liberal.
White means peace.
Republic of Paraguay
Paraguay is the only country in the world with a flag that has a different front and back side. The front side shows the national coat of arms, the back features that of the ministry of finance.
The colors were adapted from the country's army which wore red, white and blue uniforms prior to 1812. Apparently, the colors have no deeper meaning.
Republic of Chile
The Chilean flag was adopted in 1817 and was modelled after that of the United States of America. The white star stands for independence, but also for the country's honor and progress.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue: the sky over Chile
white represents the snow on the summits of the Andes
Red reminds of the blood that had to be spilt in order to achieve independence.
Asia
Nepal
The flag of Nepal is the only one in the world that is not rectangular. Instead, it consists of two triangles. The upper triangle contains a moon which represents the royal family while the lower triangle shows a sun that stands for the Rana family, which has brought up many prime ministers in Nepalese history.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue stands for peace
Red is a symbol for the flowers of the rhododendron plant as well as victory in war.
The white of the symbols does not have a special meaning.
Union of Myanmar
When Myanmar was still named Burma and a British colony, its flag was a Blue Ensign (see above). Along with independence, a new flag came to the country in 1947. This flag was modelled after that of an underground guerilla fighting against the Japanese invaders in World War 2. In 1974 the flag was altered. The cogwheel was now shown with a rice plant and 14 stars. Before there had only been one star. The cog wheel represents the country's industry, the rice plant resembles agriculture and the stars are for the seven states and seven territorries.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue stands for peace
Red resembles the courage and bravery of the people
White is for purity
Kingdom of Thailand
Until 1917, Thailand's flag was only red and white. The blue was allegedly incorporated to honor the allies in World War 1, Great Britain, France and the USA, which all have red-white-blue flags.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue is for the royalty as well as the holy Saturday
White is for the purity of the buddhist teaching
Red is for the people
Malaysia
The Malay flag is modelled after that of the USA. The fourteen stripes and fourteen rays of the sun represent the fourteen states of the Union when it gained independence. When Singapore dropped out in 1965 the flag was not altered.
Meaning of the colors :
The red and white stripes are copied from the flag of the United States.
The blue rectangle symbolizes the unity and strength of the Malay people.
Yellow is the traditional royal color of Malaysia, the moon represents the Islam.
Lao People's Democratic Republic
The Laotian flag is the only communist flag in the world which does not have a star.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue stands for wealth
Red reminds of the blood spilt in the fight for independence and
the white disk is either for the moon over the Mekong river and/or for the communist unity.
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Meaning of the colors:
Blue represents independence and peace
White is for purity
The red color and the star stand for communism.
Republic of the Philippines
The flag was first adopted when the Philippines became independent from Spain in 1898. In the same turn, the country became a colonly of the USA under the name "Commonwealth of the Philippines", using the same flag. When the Philippines became independent from the USA in 1946 this flag became the official national flag. The colors were slightly changed in 1997.
The three stars in the white triangle resemble the separation of the country into three archipelagos: the Luzon islands, the Visayas and Mindanao. The eight rays of the sun stand for the eight provinces rising against the Spanish rule in 1898.
Meaning of the colors :
Blue is for idealism and the people
White is for purity and peace
Red is for courage, bravery and the peoples' readiness to defend their country with their blood.
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