Flags of the World: Crosses and Saltires

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United Kingdom

The Union Flag is commonly incorrectly called the Union Jack.
A flag is only a jack when flown on a ship's bow.
The design incorporates the crosses of St.George of England, St.Andrew of Scotland and St.Patrick of Ireland.
Wales had already been subsumed into England.
Regardless of the official reason for the off-centre diagonals,
their true purpose is to let some earthlings mock more ignorant ones who get the flag the wrong way round.
Switzerland

This is a very old flag which was only adopted officially as the national one much later.
It is unusual in being square.
Switzerland is also unusual in trying to stay out of territorial wars.
Denmark

This flag may be the one which has been the longest in continuous use.
The flags of other Scandinavian countries are based on it - often because they used to be ruled by Denmark.
The design is associated with a crusader legend.
Sweden

Although not officially the national flag when first designed, this is another old one based on colours from an even older coat of arms.
Finland

This is a more recent flag in the Scandinavian group.
The blue and white colours represent the lakes and snow.
Norway

Ownership of Norway has been passed around a bit.
As a result the flag is of Scandinavian type but with a rebellious streak.
Iceland

A similar history leading to a similar flag.
Faroes

Another example of this design but more recent.
Dominican Republic

The white cross represents liberty from Haiti.
The blue and red were taken from the Haitian flag but later transposed.
Greece

The original flag was just the off-centre cross which remains in the canton (representing the local orthodox religion).
The 9 stripes in this flag of the Hellenic Republic are supposed to stand for the syllables in the battle-cry used against the Turks.
Tonga

This is a flag which is guaranteed not to change.
At least that was the understanding when the Kingdom of Tonga was established and the flag was designed.
So far it has survived becoming a British protectorate and regaining independence.
The colours and design represent the sacrifice and blood of Christ.
Jamaica

Here the saltire cross is a design choice rather than having religious significance.
The colours are gold for the sun, green for the land and black for hardships (both overcome and still to be faced).
Netherlands Antilles

The colours are taken from the flag of the Netherlands who owned the island groups for a while.
This design was made after the islands became self-governing.
The stars represent the islands in the group.
There were originally 6 stars but 1 island (Aruba) left.
Panama

This flag shows American influence since Panama left Colombia as a result of the canal negotiations.
The blue and red quarters represent conservative and liberal political parties respectively, with white being hope for peace between them.
The red star stands for the supremacy of the law and the blue one is for public honesty and loyalty.

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