Macedonia Flag Meaning and History

Macedonian Flag Description:

The flag of Macedonia consists of a centered yellow sun, with eight extending rays, which widen atop a red background.

Macedonian Flag Meaning:

The sun design is a simplified version of the Star of Vergina, which appeared on Macedonia's former national flag. Red has been a significant color throughout the history of Macedonian flags. The sun also represents "the new sun of liberty", which is mentioned in the country's national anthem.

Macedonian Flag History:

The Macedonian flag was adopted on October 5, 1995, making it one of the world's newest flags. Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia on September 8, 1991. When Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia the flag was red with a red star in the top left corner. Greece objected to the new republic calling itself Macedonia and to the design of the new national flag. Greece already had a province called Macedonia and feared Macedonia had intentions to extend its border to include Greek Macedonia. Greece also objected to the use of Alexander the Great's Star of Vergina, which appeared on Macedonia's original flag (from 1991 to 95) as Greeks believed the symbol culturally belonged to Greece and wasn't a Slavic symbol. Macedonia then removed the star from their flag.

Interesting Macedonian Flag Facts:

According to a 1997 Macedonian law, flags of foreign countries cannot be flown from public buildings except on certain public and religious holidays when they may be flown alongside the Macedonian flag. This law affects first and foremost the use of the Albanian flag, which was used on municipal buildings in towns of Western Macedonia. The law was followed by police action against municipal authorities in the towns of Tetovo and Gostivar, where the Albanian flag was removed from the town halls. This led to protests and demonstrations and finally resulted in rioting. Three people died and more than 50 were injured with 300-400 people being detained or arrested (including the mayor of Gostivar). On July 12, 1997, demonstrators, many of them Albanians from Macedonia, burned the Macedonian flag in the Albanian capital of Tirana.

Luxembourg Flag Meaning and History

Luxembourg Flag Description:

The flag of Luxembourg consists of three equal sized horizontal stripes - the top stripe is red; the middle one is white; and the bottom stripe is light blue.

Luxembourg Flag Meaning:

The colors of the Luxembourg flag take their origin from the 13th century coat of arms of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Count Henry VI. The coat of arms featured a red lion on a field of striped white and blue lines. The coat of arms of Luxembourg dates back to medieval times.

Luxembourg Flag History:

The Luxembourg flag was adopted on June 23, 1972. The Luxembourg flag was influenced by the French flag. Luxembourg declared independence from Germany in 1835 and designed a horizontal flag in 1845.

Interesting Luxembourg Flag Facts:

The Luxembourg flag is similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker shade of blue. The similarity, however, is just a coincidence, there's no historical connection.

Lithuania Flag Meaning and History

Lithuanian Flag Description:

The flag of Lithuania consists of three equal sized horizontal stripes - the top stripe is yellow; the middle one is green; and the bottom stripe is red.

Lithuanian Flag Meaning:

Lithuanian's flag colors are based on the country's traditional national dress - the yellow stripe represents the sun, Lithuania's fields of wheat and prosperity; the green symbolizes the country's forests, flora and hope; and the red stands for the blood spilt for independence, courage and the people's love for Lithuania.

Lithuanian Flag History:

The Lithuanian flag was adopted on March 20, 1989, as Lithuania adopted its old tricolor flag as its official flag in March 1989. The Lithuanian flag had previously been used during Lithuania's period of independence from Russia - from 1918 to 1940. It was created in 1918 replacing the historical red flag featuring the Vytis or white knight on a horse, which had been used by Lithuania for centuries. The Soviet Union took control of the country again in 1944 and outlawed the flag. On September 20, 1989, Lithuania proclaimed independence from the Soviet Union.

Interesting Lithuanian Flag Facts:

Homeowners in all three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are obliged to fly their national flags on the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian independence days. Failure to fly the national flag could result in a fine.

Paris Photos