Colombia Flag Pictures
Flag of Colombia
The Colombian flag was adopted on November 26, 1861 making it one of the world's oldest flags. It is the same flag as Ecuador and Venezuela with slight variations. Colombia also has interesting cultural practices for when and which type of flag is to be flown. Another interesting point of reference is that there are several different interpretations of the colors of the Colombian flag.
Francisco de Miranda's Inspiration
The Colombian flag is one that was originally designed by Francisco de Miranda. He designed this flag of three equal horizontal stripes of yellow, blue, and red. Miranda's inspiration to create Venezuela's first flag came from a conversation at a party with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and uniforms worn by Burgers' Guard. The first source of inspiration was a conversation he engaged in with German writer and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe was fascinated with Miranda's accounts of his exploits in the United States Revolutionary War and travels throughout the Americas and Europe told him, "your destiny is to create in your land a place where primary colors are not distorted."This statement from Goethe was both artistic and philosophical.
Goethe went on to further his illustrate his statement to Miranda by explaining how the iris of the eye transforms light into three primary colors. The iris of the eye transforms light into three primary colors by yellow is the most warm, noble, and closest to white light, blue is a mix of serenity and excitement, red is the grandeur of yellow and blue. Another source of inspiration for Francisco de Miranda's design of the Venezuelan flag was the colors of the uniforms worn by Burgers'Guard (Burgerwache) of Hamburg. While in Germany, he took notice of the guards'uniforms being yellow, blue, and red. Together both of these sources of inspiration inspired Miranda both artistically and philosophically.
Flag Etiquette
In Colombia, the citizens are supposed to proudly fly their national flags on national holidays. As of recently there have been several campaigns attempted to promote the display of the national flag anytime to proudly display patriotism all the time.
Another point of flag etiquette is that Colombia has two flags, national and state. The state flag is emblazoned with a Coat of Arms on a white circle bordered in red. The Colombian law states only the president and military units may fly flags with the Coat of Arms. In all reality, the government is not steadfast on enforcing this law. Another tradition seen in Colombia with respect to the flag is it is flown everywhere when the national soccer team plays especially after a victory. Colombian flags that are defaced with the country name written in white over the blue stripe, logo of the Colombian Football Federation, or the logo of a certain brewery brand. This is Colombia's display of patriotism and showing support for sports.
Last, but not least, there is another flag that is reserved for indoor use only to be displayed by the President and the Military. Almost all indoor flags use the Coat of Arms on a white circle, outlined in red, and a legend on the border. The true prominent feature that sets this flag apart from the others is that it is usually fringed.
Interpretations of Colors
Typically, there is one historical interpretation of the colors of a country's flag. In this case, Colombia has four interpretations. As times have changed so, have citizens' meanings of their flag.
1. Yellow-sovereignty and justice, blue-nobility, loyalty, and vigilance, red-valor, honor, generosity, and victory to achieved at the high cost of bloodshed
2. Yellow-universal liberty, blue-the equality of all races and social classes before God and the law, red-fraternity
3. Yellow-the richness of the Colombian land, blue-the seas on the Colombian shores, red-the blood spilled on battlegrounds by the heroes who gained Colombia's freedom
4. Yellow-the sun and land of the people, blue-water that holds up the people, red-the blood shed by the people who fought for the independence of Columbia
Buy Colombia flag at United States Flag StoreNot many things stand the tests of time as flags have done. For centuries, they've symbolized nations and beliefs. However, as technology has made its way into our lives, new venues have arrived for flag display. Meeting this need, we carry royalty free pictures and clip art in the form of cell phone wallpapers, desktop backgrounds, screensaver options, icons for aim (AOL Instant Messenger), avatars and more in our vast vector graphics image library of flags. Whether your downloading picture to print on clothing or a clip art flag for use on a website, we've got a huge selection for you to download and do with as you please, and the best part is-it's all FREE!
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