This page promotes the enjoyment of flags and the interesting stories behind them.  Other flags will have no stories and will have to speak for themselves.  Each month we feature an unusual flag or two, how they came to be, and their histories.  Please enjoy these flags and the stories as we do...

Send Vexibits suggestions to the Website Editor—webeditor@nava.org

So what about the Kuzhenesky District of Russia? Its got snow-covered Christmassy-looking trees, it’s definitely got Christmas colors, and a flying… oops, moose? We don’t think Santa’s ever had one of those, maybe a red-nosed reindeer? So our search must continue…

By the way, the Kuzhenersky District is one of fourteen administrative and municipal districts in the Mari El Republic of Russia.

Now we come to the flag of Swain's Island, part of American Samoa. It is a remote coral atoll in the Tokelau Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It is privately owned by the Jennings family and was used as a copra plantation until 1967.

However Swain's Island is not really a place that brings on those holiday feelings.

For a number of years, the Confederate battle flag has captured much media attention with its conflicting and controversial symbolism, but a very different Confederate flag has remained virtually unknown and ignored. It is the 1865 Confederate Flag of Truce, which the South used in the process of surrendering to the North.

For many the Confederate Battle Flag has become a symbol Southern pride and heritage, for others the opposite because it was carried by those fighting for the right to enslave. For them it retains a hated racist symbol of oppression. With the recent vote in the state of Mississippi in November, the last overt Confederate battle flag symbol on state flags was removed.

Has the moment arrived for remembering this forgotten Confederate Flag?

We start with The Flag of Earth designed by James Cadle, an Illinois farmer, shortly after the first manned landing on the moon in 1969. It consists of a blue circle, representing the earth, on a black background. To the left is a segment of a large yellow circle, representing the sun. On the lower right is a small white circle, representing the moon. The flag itself was made by the Paramount Flag Company of San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s.

It was meant to be a flag for all nations and yet a flag of no nation.

One World Flag was designed by David Bartholomew in 1996. He claims it occurred to him in a dream. It consists of a traditional yin-yang symbol, blue above and green below, representing the planet earth living in harmony, on a background of white, representing peace. The edges are formed of colored bars, red above, yellow on the right, white below, and black on the left, representing the four compass directions.

Bartholomew hoped the One World Flag would become an international symbol of diversity, tolerance, uniqueness, self-esteem, and cooperation. He still heads the One World Flag Movement which partly supports itself by selling the One World flag.

This World Citizen Flag has an interesting history. In 1948, in Paris, France, Garry Davis, then 26, a former Broadway actor and US bomber pilot of World War II, renounced his exclusive citizenship in and allegiance to the United States of America. At the same time, he publicly declared himself a "citizen of the world." In 1949, Davis founded the International Registry of World Citizens. Over 750,000 individuals in 150 countries registered.

This International Flag of Planet Earth is a proposal by NAVA member Oskar Pernefeldt, from a graduation project at Beckmans College of Design, in Stockholm, Sweden. Centered in the flag, seven rings form a flower–a symbol of the life on Earth. The rings are linked to each other, which represents how everything on our planet, directly or indirectly, are linked. The blue field represents water which is essential for life–also as the oceans cover most of our planet's surface.

The flower's outer rings form a circle which could be seen as a symbol of Earth as a planet and the blue surface could represent the universe.

Perhaps living in California has influenced my concern for the importance of Climate Change, but it's hard to sit through excessive heat, runaway wild fires, bad air quality, and years of drought without becoming a bit concerned. So I share the "Climate Change is Real" Flag with you this month. This flag is obviously an attempt to do so in a rather simple way. A shame it is only one-sided and the message reversed on the backside when flown.

The flag was designed by Michael Green, a NAVA member, and it can be obtained from his new company, Flags for Good.

The colors of the stripes are yellow, white, blue, and green to symbolize the sun, the atmosphere, the waters, and green technologies. The circle is inspired by the Big Blue Marble, the first image humanity had ever seen of the Earth from space and the power of coming together for the common good. The flag is the brainchild of the Climate Flag Organization, which explains that the flag "demonstrates our support of choices to reduce greenhouse gases and fund renewable energies, and shows our willingness to engage our neighbors, government representatives, and the scientific, spiritual, industrial and artistic communities in dialogue about uncommon solutions to reduce climate change for the common good."

Coast Guard Day is held every August 4 to commemorate the founding of the United States Coast Guard as the Revenue Service on August 4, 1790, by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. On that date Congress, guided by Hamilton, authorized the building of a fleet of the first ten Revenue Service cutters, whose responsibility would be enforcement of the first tariff laws enacted by the Congress under the Constitution. This is the current Coast Guard ensign.

She followed the accepted rules of heraldry and began and ended the stripes with white ones. Also according to the rules of heraldry, a star must have at least 6 points. Anything with five points or less was called a "mullet". Today scholars dispute this story, claiming that the cotton fabric and thread used to make the flag dates it more closely to the War of 1812. It most likely was made by Nathaniel Fillmore (a veteran of the Battle of Bennington) for his son, Colonel Septa Fillmore and the New York/Vermont militia, who participated at the Battle of Plattsburg (Lake Champlain) in 1814, a battle considered by many as the turning point of the War of 1812. Learn the latest information at the Bennington Museum of Art about this iconic flag.

This interesting 51-star flag was part of a display on immigration at the Chicago Museum of Art replacing the single star on the territorial flag with a pattern of 51-stars instead. Its message was if Puerto Rico were granted statehood it would become the 51st state of the Union. Puerto Rico has been struggling in recent years to obtain federal funds for a series of disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and now the Coronavirus pandemic.

This Acadiana Black Pride Flag, a combination of the Pan-African colors and the Acadiana flag (1965), was used in the Black Lives Matter Demonstrations in Lafayette, Louisiana, during June, 2020. It was designed by a local artist named Cory Stewart to support the Black Lives Matter movement and was first used at local protest events against racism and police brutality.

Stewart first created the flag for a Black History Month showcase. He said he's a fan of flags and the power they have to communicate allegiances and support and wanted to create something that encompassed his pride of home and his Black identity.

King Kamehameha I Day, June 11, is a public holiday in the state of Hawaii. It honors Kamehameha the Great, the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawai'i. His kingdom comprised the islands of Ni'ihau, Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lāna'i, Kaho'olawe, Maui, and Hawai'i. There were eight royal monarchs of Hawaii from the formation of the Kingdom in 1810 to the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893.

During the rule of the third Hawaiian king, Kamehameha III, a Hawaiian royal standard was designed by Timothy Ha'alilio, the king's private secretary. The items looking like white spoons on the gold background of the shield are Puloulou. In ancient times these were placed on either side of the door to the king’s house, or other buildings under royal authority, to indicate protection or a place of refuge to which a person might flee from danger and be safe. These ancient vexilloloid (flag-like objects) were also used to protect Hawaiian boats and warships.

Flag Day did not become official until August 1949, when President Harry Truman signed the legislation proclaiming June 14 as Flag Day. In 1966, Congress also requested that each President issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as National Flag Week.

Obviously we have a wide range of Stars and Stripes to chose from, but my favorite is still this interesting multicolored version designed by the late vexillologist Peter Orenski, who mixed 26 gold stars, surrounded by 24 traditional white ones, to form the number 50. Here he waves it on the 50th Anniversary of the 50-Star flag.

In Belgium a simple plain white flag is being flown on the royal palace and other buildings to show the concern for those suffering from and fighting CORVIS 19. This led members of Heraldica Slovenica, the Heraldry Society of Slovenia, to design and provide a special Protikoroni (Anti-Coronavirus) flag to honor their health care workers. The white field was overlaid by the symbol of healthcare workers and medicine (the Rod of Asclepius) rising over a broken and overturned crown (corona).

The doctors and nurses fighting to save as many of the millions of coronavirus victims as possible have answered the call to duty, as they have many times in the past, and once again have paid dearly for their heroic efforts.

Another version of the Emergency Medical Services flag includes one in black remembering those brave medical heroes who have given their lives.

The state of Mississippi remains the only state to have the Confederate Battle Flag on its official state flag. Mississippi was one of the eleven southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861 to form the Confederate States of America. The result was a bloody four year war between the Northern States and the Southern States in the American Civil War. Many critics see the continued use of the Confederate Battle Flag as symbol of bigotry, white supremacy, and racism.

Since the Mississippi flag referendum in 2001, several different "alternative" Mississippi state flags (without the controversial CSA Battle flag in the canton) have been flown or suggested by those still unhappy with the referendum results. One alternative has been suggested by NAVA member Laurin Stennis, a Mississippi artist and granddaughter of the late Senator John C. Stennis. On her suggested flag 19 stars form a circle around a larger center star, which represents Mississippi as the 20th state to join the Union in 1817. The centering of the blue star on the field of white is an inverted "Bonnie Blue", a reference to a flag used by some who advocated the state's secession in 1861.

Another "alternative" state flag, suggested by Clay Moss, is based on the only known actual remaining Civil War-era state flag. It was captured by the 2nd Iowa Cavalry on May 30, 1862, just north of Booneville, Mississippi. It is currently in the collection of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines. According to Moss, this surviving Civil War-era flag matches the written description of the state flag adopted by the legislature in 1861 more closely than any other known surviving Magnolia flag, and he feels it could make an acceptable "alternative" state flag to fly for those unhappy with the current official flag.

So the question for the vexillologist is which flags to fly honoring women in history and their struggle to be recognized. Hands down it should start with the "Suffragettes" of the United Kingdom and their flag. The Women's Social and Political Union, or WSPU, was began in 1903 under the leadership of Emmeline Pankhurst. The WSPU was considered a very militant organization as they demonstrated and campaigned for Women's suffrage and the right to vote. During World War I, the WSPU faded from public attention and was disbanded in 1917. It wasn't until 1928 that universal suffrage for all adults over 21 years of age was achieved in the United Kingdom. The colors of the British Suffragettes' Flag was violet, white, and green.

A gold-white-purple horizontal tricolor became the flag of the American suffrage movement. In 1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns founded the "Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage"; in 1917 it was renamed The National Woman's Party (NWP). They became the first political group to picket the White House. Their action was viewed as unpatriotic when World War I began in 1917, and they were assaulted, beaten, arrested, and imprisoned. Finally, President Wilson changed his position to support women's suffrage, but by the time the 19th Amendment was passed in February, 1920, over 165 suffragists had served prison sentences.

To change the subject completely - So what "should" and "should not" be the flag that the patriotic Irish-American should fly for Saint Patrick's Day. This is kind of like a "good flag, bad flag" contest based on personal preferences. My favorite good flag suggestion for this occasion would be the flag on the left, which is simply a recolored stars and stripes, but not to be confused with the multitude of recolored star and stripes available for American sports teams.

What started as a police mourning arm band used in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2002 has slowly become an international symbol. As an armband it was at first typically worn when an officer was killed in the line of duty.

It stood for the "thin blue line" of police protection. It evolved into an auto sticker and finally into a plethora of flags. The practice has now spread across the border to Canada.

The Thin Red Line Flag honors the firefighters who risk their lives to rescue and protect the public from fire and who act as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) at accidents and medical emergencies. The black background of the flag honors those who have died doing their duty.

This variant Thin Red Line flag is reminiscent of the original mourning arm bands which sported a wider central stripe.

On another note, there are several veteran groups in the states working to get recognition for their service "War Dogs" and their handlers. Under this America's Forgotten Heroes Flag these groups have thus far been successful mainly at the state level, but are actively fund raising to establish more memorials for these forgotten heroes and their service. One such group in Columbia, South Carolina, has been led by a Vietnam veteran named Johnny Mayo.

Mayo was an Army dog handler in Vietnam. He and his scout dog Tiger were searching for snipers or ambushes in the jungles of the central highlands of South Vietnam on October 16, 1970.

This interesting Pan-Celticism Flag, designed by a Breton named Robert Berthelier in 1950, consists of two interlaced triskelions. It represents the "Six Nations" identified by the Celtic League and Celtic Congress. The Six Nations are considered the heartland of the modern Celts of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany (France), and Great Britain (Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man).

Pan-Celticism itself, is a political, social, and cultural movement advocating solidarity and cooperation between those of Celtic heritage.

This page promotes the enjoyment of flags and the interesting stories behind them.  Other flags will have no stories and will have to speak for themselves.  Each month we feature an unusual flag or two, how they came to be, and their histories.  Please enjoy these flags and the stories as we do...

Send Vexibits suggestions to the Website Editor—webeditor@nava.org