AT-386651 The flag and coat of arms of Austria

The flag
The flag of Austria (Flagge Österreichs) has three equal horizontal bands of red, white and red. The Austrian triband is based on the coat of arms of the Babenberg dynasty, recorded in the 13th century.

According to legend however, the flag was invented by Duke Leopold V of Austria as a consequence of his fighting during the Siege of Acre. After a fierce battle, his white surcoat was completely drenched in blood. When he removed his belt, the cloth beneath remained unstained, revealing the combination of red-white-red. So taken was he by this singular sight that he adopted the colours and scheme as his banner.

Coat of arms
The current coat of arms of Austria has been in use, in various forms, by the Republic of Austria since 1919. Between 1934 and the German annexation in 1938 Austria used a different coat of arms, which consisted of a double-headed eagle. The establishment of the Second Republic in 1945 saw the return of the original (First Republic) arms, with broken chains added to symbolise Austria's liberation. (Source: Wikipedia)

This postcard came from Eva of Vienna (Postcrossing, 2 July 2018).

IT-457525 The flag and emblem of Italy

The flag of Italy (Bandiera d'Italia), often referred to in Italian as il Tricolore; is a tricolour featuring three equally-sized vertical pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side. Its current form has been in use since 18 June 1946 and was formally adopted on 1 January 1948.

Some have attributed particular values to the colours, and a common interpretation is that the green represents the country's plains and the hills; white, the snow-capped Alps; and red, blood spilt in the Wars of Italian Independence and Unification. A more religious interpretation is that the green represents hope, the white represents faith, and the red represents charity; this references the three theological virtues.

The emblem of Italy (Italian: emblema della Repubblica Italiana) was formally adopted by the newly formed Italian Republic on 5 May 1948. Although often referred to as a coat of arms (or stemma in Italian), it is technically an emblem as it was not designed to conform to traditional heraldic rules. The emblem comprises a white five-pointed star, with a thin red border, superimposed upon a five-spoked cogwheel, standing between an olive branch to the left side and an oak branch to the right side; the branches are in turn bound together by a red ribbon with the inscription REPVBBLICA ITALIANA. The emblem is used extensively by the Italian government. (Source: Wikipedia)

This postcard came from Sergio from Trieste (Postcrossing, 20 June 2018).

DE-6553153 The flag of Germany

The flag of Germany consists of three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and gold. Flags used by German government for official purposes are defaced with the Bundesschild ("Federal Shield"), which overlaps with up to one fifth of the black and gold bands.

I received this very nice postcard from Peter (13 October 2017).

For a more interesting presentation of the German flag see:
https://flynnfrogg.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/de-3958448-colours-of-german-flag.html

BR-437557 Açude Velho in the city of Campina Grande, state of Paraíba, Brazil and flag of Paraíba

Açude Velho is a water body located in the centre of the city of Campina Grande, in the state of Paraíba, Brazil . It was initially a source of water supply for Campina Grande and region . Then, when the city began to have water supply piped, its initial purpose was lost, and, today, Açude Velho is a scenic place and a historical patrimony of the city.

The flag of Paraíba, Brazil is shown on the top right hand corner of this postcard.  Although it is a small image, it is an interesting one for a flag buff like myself,.

Paraíba's flag honours the political events which involved João Pessoa [namesake of the state's capital city], the Liberal Alliance Party and the Revolution of 1930. The inscription "NÉGO" (meaning "I deny") printed in white characters on a red background originates from the contrary position adopted by Paraíba concerning the candidacy of Julio Prestes for the Presidency of the Republic. The black colour expresses the mourning the state wore after the assassination of João Pessoa (July 1930)--at that time President of Paraíba. Thus the Revolution of 1930 began. Finally, the red colour pays homage to the victorious revolution itself which, starting in Paraíba, spread all over the south and culminated in the deposition of Washington Luis as President of the Republic. 

This postcard came from Gabriel (13 June 2017)

"England expects that every man will do his duty"

"England expects that every man will do his duty" was a signal sent by Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, from his flagship HMS Victory as the Battle of Trafalgar was about to commence on 21 October 1805.
Trafalgar was a decisive naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. It gave the United Kingdom control of the seas, removing all possibility of a French invasion and conquest of Britain.

Although there was much confusion surrounding the wording of the signal in the aftermath of the battle, the significance of the victory and Nelson's death during the battle led to the phrase becoming embedded in the English psyche, and it has been regularly quoted, paraphrased and referenced up to the modern day. Source: Wikipedia

This great postcard came from Lita A. (30 June 2016) who has sent me many, many interesting postcards. Thanks Lita.  I have always been interested in flags and this postcard shows signalling flags carrying this famous message. 

FI-2508885 Finland

Finland is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordered by Sweden to the west, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east; Estonia lies to the south across the Gulf of Finland.

In 2013, Finland's population was around 5.5 million, with the majority living in its southern regions. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki. The Åland Islands is an autonomous region of Finland. Other large cities in Finland besides Helsinki include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti, and Kuopio.

From the late 12th century until 1809, Finland was part of Sweden.  Right up to present day, this legacy is reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. Finland from 1809 was then incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Independence of Finland was then declared. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. It joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1969, the European Union in 1995, and the Eurozone at its inception in 1999.

Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. (Source: Wikipedia)

This postcard which depicts the National Flag, the National Anthem and a typical scene of lake and trees came from Eija (15 October 2015) Postcrossing.  On the reverse, the National Anthem is printed in Swedish.

RU-3966002 The coat of arms of the Russian Empire 1721- 1914

The Russian Empire had a coat of arms, displayed in either its greater, middle and lesser version.  This postcard shows the coat of arms in its greater version.

Kate (Postcrossing) who sent this postcard has written a full description of this coat of arms (see below).

LT-455324 The flag of Lithuania

The flag of Lithuania consists of a horizontal tricolor of yellow, green and red. It was re-adopted on March 20, 1989, almost two years before the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence and more than three years before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It was first used in Lithuania's first period of independence (in the 20th century) from 1918 to 1940. The last alteration to the current flag occurred in 2004 when the aspect ratio changed from 1:2 to 3:5.

The yellow in the flag is meant to symbolize the sun and prosperity, the green is for countryside, liberty and hope, and the red represents the bravery and blood of those who have died for Lithuania.

This postcard came from Ingrida (18 August 2015) Postcrossing.

The Flag of Berlin

The flag of Berlin has three stripes of red-white-red, the two outer stripes each occupying a fifth of its height, the middle the remaining three fifths. There is a civil flag and a state flag.  In the civil flag, a bear is in the centre of the flag. In the state flag, the coat of arms (which also has a bear) of Berlin is in the centre of the flag.

This postcard sent by Birgit (11 August 2015) features the civil flag of Berlin.

Why is the city represented by a bear?

The emblem of the bear is apparently a pun on the city's name (bear in German being Bär).

Before unification (1990) there were two civil flags - one for West Berlin and one for East Bear. The civil flag of West Berlin was adopted on 26 May 1954. It became the flag of the whole city after the reunification of Germany.

TW-1041077 TW-1559764 TW-1662432 The Flag of the ROC (Taiwan)

The Flag of the Republic of China (中華民國國旗) is red with a navy blue canton bearing a white sun with twelve triangular rays. In Chinese, the flag is commonly described as “Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth” (青天白日滿地紅).

This flag was first used in mainland China by the Kuomintang (the Chinese National Party) in 1917 and was made the official flag of the Republic of China in 1928. Since 1949, the flag is used only within Taiwan. 

The three colours of the flag signify the following:

*  Blue represents nationalism and liberty
*  White represents democracy and equality
*  and Red represents the people's livelihood and fraternity.

The twelve rays of the white Sun represent the twelve months and the twelve traditional shichen (時辰), a traditional unit of time which corresponds to two modern hours. Sun Yat-sen was said to have added the "Red Earth" to the flag to signify the blood of the revolutionaries who sacrificed themselves in order to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and create the Republic of China.

These three postcards with the flag of ROC (Taiwan) came from (1) Chao (26 Oct 2013) Postcrossing (2) Les C. (19 April 2015) Postcrossing (3) Ivy (22 July 2015) Postcrossing.

GB-669833 The Union Jack

The Union Jack or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The present design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The flag combines aspects of three older national flags: the red cross of St George of the Kingdom of England, the white saltire of St Andrew for Scotland (which two were united in the earlier Union Flag of 1606), and the red saltire of St Patrick to represent Ireland.

This postcard came from Andrew (26 June 2015) Postcrossing.

The flag of Louisiana

The flag of Louisiana shows a "pelican in her piety," - a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from the blood. The image is emblematic of Christian (including Catholic) charity and it is also found on the state seal. There is a ribbon below the pelican image with the state motto: "Union, Justice, and Confidence". The current flag was adopted in November 2010, a revision of the original pelican design of 1912. In this revision, the word “and” was dropped from the flag.

During the 19th century it was traditional in Louisiana flags and the state seal for the "pelican in her piety" to have three drops of blood on her chest. To formalise this, the Louisiana State Legislature passed a bill which requires three drops of blood to be depicted on the pelican used in both the state's flag and seal.

This postcard came from Cathy (12 June 2015) Direct Swap Postcrossing.

MY-256723 The Flag of Malaysia

The 14 stripes of the Malaysian flag represent the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government, while the 14 points of the star represent the unity between these entities.

The current flag was introduced in September 1963 and the 14 stripes and points on the star at that time represented the 11 states of Malaya and the three new states (when Malaysia was formed) of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.  When Singapore left to become an independent country in 1965, the flag was not modified even though there were only 13 states left.

When Kuala Lumpur was designated a Federal Territory on 1 February 1974, the additional stripe and the point in the star were appropriated to represent this new addition to the federation. Eventually, with the addition of two other federal territories — Labuan in 1984 and Putrajaya in 2001 — the fourteenth stripe and point in the star came to be associated with the federal government in general.

This postcard came from Melissa (8 june 2015) Postcrossing.

ZA-70386 The Colours of the Flag of South Africa

The flag of South Africa was adopted on 27 April 1994, at the beginning of South Africa's 1994 general election, to replace the flag that had been used since 1928. The new national flag was chosen to represent the new democracy.

The flag has horizontal bands of red (on the top) and blue (on the bottom), of equal width, separated by a central green band which splits into a horizontal "Y" shape, the arms of which end at the corners of the hoist side (and follow the flag's diagonals). The Y embraces a black isosceles triangle from which the arms are separated by narrow yellow bands; the red and blue bands are separated from the green band and its arms by narrow white stripes. The stripes at the fly end are in the 5:1:3:1:5 ratio.

Three of the colours – black, green and yellow – are found in the banner of the African National Congress. The other three – red, white and blue – are displayed on the old Transvaal vierkleur (which also includes green), the Dutch tricolour and the British Union flag.

This postcard which depicts the colours of the South African flag came from (25 April 2015) Postcrossing.

PL-1050194 The State Flag of Poland

The flag of Poland consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of the flag with the national coat of arms in the middle of the white stripe is legally reserved for official use abroad and at sea. A similar flag with the addition of a swallow-tail is used as the naval ensign of Poland.

White and red were officially adopted as national colours in 1831. They are of heraldic origin and derive from the tinctures (colours) of the coats of arms of the two constituent nations of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, i.e. the White Eagle of Poland and the Pursuer of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The national flag was officially adopted in 1919. Since 2004, Polish Flag Day is celebrated on May 2.

Current Polish law does not restrict the use of the national flag without the coat of arms as long as the flag is not disrespected.

This postcard came from Emilia (24 April 2015) Postcrossing.

NL-2958503 Flags of the Zeemancolleges of the Netherlands

This postcard shows the flags of Zeemancolleges of the Netherlands.  These ‘colleges’ are associations that provide social security to the relatives of seamen lost at sea or who are injured or sick.  The associations also provide its members with advice and assistance and generally improve seafaring conditions. Members pay an annual membership fee.

Most Zeemancolleges were founded in the 19th century, although the oldest college was founded in 1587.  The first modern-day college was founded in Amsterdam in 1795.  There are still four Zeemancolleges left in the Netherlands.

This postcard came from Ingrid (24 April 2015) Postcrossing.

 

NL-2957596 Flag of the Netherlands

The flag of the Netherlands was introduced in 1572. This flag is one of the oldest flags to be used in the world.  It is the oldest tricolour flag still in national use.

The flag of the Netherlands was officially recognized as the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 19 February 1937 through a royal decree.

The flag is customarily flown at government buildings and military bases in the Netherlands and abroad all year round. Private use is much rarer. Only on holidays such as Koningsdag (King's Day) is there widespread private use. On Koningsdag an orange pennant is added to the flag.

Why is the words "anno 2020" on the postcard?
Anouk explained that with global warming and rising water levels, most of the Netherlands would be under water by the year 2020.

 

This postcard came from Anouk (24 April 2015) Postcrossing.

 

 

DE-3958448 Colours of the German flag

The flag of Germany is a tricolour consisting of three equal horizontal bands displaying the national colours of Germany: black, red, and gold. The flag was first adopted as the national flag of modern Germany in 1919, during the Weimar Republic.

Black, red and gold colours have played an important role in German history and can be traced back to the medieval banner of the Holy Roman Emperor - a black eagle with red claws and beak on a gold field. The Holy Roman Empire was a German-majority, multi-ethnic empire in central Europe from its beginning in 962 until it was defeated by Napoleon on August 6, 1806 at the Battle of Austerlitz.

German-states that were part of the Holy Roman Empire came under French rule and several German organizations began agitations to free Germany from foreign rule and create a unified country. Prominent among them were two organizations - Lützow Free Corps and Jena Student's League - whose members wore uniforms of black with gold and red accessories and used flags of those colours.

This interesting postcard came from Rainer (11 March 2015) Postcrossing.

The flag of Quebec, the Fleurdelisé

The flag of Quebec, called the Fleurdelisé, was adopted for the province by the government of Quebec.  It was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada.  The Fleurdelisé flew for the first time on January 21, 1948, at the Parliament Building of the National Assembly in Quebec City.

The Fleurdelisé takes its white cross from the ancient royal flags of France.  Its white fleurs-de-lis (symbols of purity) and blue field (symbolizing Heaven) come from a banner honouring the Virgin Mary, reputedly carried by French-Canadian militia at General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's victory at Carillon.

The flag's official ratio is 2:3 (width to length), but the flag is very often seen as a 1:2 variant to match the flag of Canada in size when flying together.

This postcard came from Sophie D. (9 February 2015) Direct Swap Postcrossing.

SW EW-450 & CA-499397 The Maple Leaf Flag of Canada

The National Flag of Canada also known as the Maple Leaf and l'Unifolié (French for "the one-leafed"), is a flag consisting of a red field with a white square at its centre.  In the middle is a stylized, 11-pointed, red maple leaf. The Maple Leaf was adopted in February 15 1965 to replace the Union Flag and it is the first ever specified by statute law for use as the country's national flag. February 15 is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day.

The ratio of the red and white portions of the flag is 1:2:1.  The red came from the red of St George’s cross and the white came from the French royal emblem.  As early as 1700, the maple leaf began to serve as a symbol celebrating Canada's nature and environment. The maple leaf on the flag is a sugar maple leaf. Sugar maples are native to Canada and have brilliant fall foliage. The number of points on the leaf has no significance; they do not, for instance, represent the ten provinces plus the federal government. In fact, some of the very first Canadian flags made had maple leaves of 15 points.

Before the Maple Leaf Flag, the Canadian Red Ensign, since the early 1890s, had been unofficially used to represent Canada.  This Red Ensign was approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag".

 

I received 2 copies of this flag postcard from 2 senders (a) Robyn H. (6 February 2015) Swap-bot and (b) Richard (27 January 2015) Postcrossing.