Flag of Finland

National flag of Finland
Vexillological symbol :	?
Aspect ratio:	11:18
Officially accepted:	May 29, 1918

The flag of Finland shows a blue Scandinavian cross on a white background. In addition to the official name “Flag of Finland” ( Finnish : Suomen lippu , Swedish : Finlands flagga ), the popular name siniristilippu (“blue cross flag” ) is also used .

It was introduced by law on May 29, 1918 as the official symbol of Finland .

A distinction is made between the “general national flag ” and the state flag used by state institutions.

Description and meaning

National flag of Finland

^? Aspect ratios of the flag of Finland

The civil and commercial flag is the basis of all versions of the national flag . It is rectangular. A blue cross divides the flag into four rectangles. The entire plane is eleven units high and 18 units long. The width of the cross is three units of measurement. The inner fields are five units long, the outer ten.

The blue of the cross stands for the Finnish lakes, the white base for the snow.

Initially, the colors of the flag were defined with the help of pattern fabrics. Today, however, the definition by the CIE norm valence system , the Swedish NCS Natural Color System and the Pantone Matching System (PMS) have replaced this conventional method.

The colors are defined as follows:

• According to PMS :
  • Blue: 294C
  • Red: 186C
  • Yellow: 123C

• Based on the textile-related pantone colors, the following CMYK can be derived approximately . They are not part of the official definition:
  • Blue: C = 100%; M = 56%; Y = 0%; K = 18.5%

history

Finland was part of Sweden for a long time , from 1809 to 1917 it was part of the Russian Empire . When the country gained independence from Russia in 1917 , it gave itself its own national flag to symbolize Finland's independence. It was designed by the artists Eero Snellman and Bruno Tuukkanen . The national coat of arms used today and the freedom cross depicted on the presidential flag come from Olof Eriksson .

Like almost all Scandinavian flags , the flag of Finland is based on the Danebrog , which, according to legend, used the Scandinavian cross for the first time as early as 1219. Today all five states fly a flag with a cross. Another name is "Cross of the North" in analogy to the Cross of the South , which is often used on flags of states in the southern hemisphere.

State flag

11:18 ^? National flag of Finland

The state flag is reserved exclusively for state institutions.

In its rectangular shape, the state flag of the country corresponds in principle to the national flag, but also shows the Finnish coat of arms on a red square background in the center of the cross . There is a thin yellow border (3/40 units wide) between the red background and the blue cross.

The rectangular state flag is used by state institutions such as parliament, government, courts, diplomatic missions abroad, and state universities. It is also used in the state ship fleet (e.g. on icebreakers).

War flag

11:19 ^? War flag of Finland

The tongue-shaped war flag is one unit longer than the rectangular shape and is triple-pointed on the side opposite the flagpole. It is used by the army .

Special forms

Finnish law provides for a number of special forms of the Finnish flag.

Presidential flag

11:19 am Finnish presidential flag

The President of the Republic of Finland uses the state flag in the form of a tongue, on the upper corner of the mast there is the freedom cross , which combines a blue paw cross with a yellow swastika .

Military special forms

Three special forms of the flag are used in a military context. They are based on the tongue-shaped state flag and each differ in the symbol affixed to the upper corner of the mast:

• Defense Minister - two brown rifles in front of two crossed yellow cannon barrels
• The commander of the army - brown and yellow marshal's baton and blue and yellow sword crossed with a yellow cannon barrel
• Commander of the Navy - blue anchor in front of two crossed cannon barrels

Leisure boats

A special form of the Finnish flag can be used on leisure boats, with a thin white cross (width 3/5 units of measure) on the blue cross and the symbol of the boat club on the top corner on the mast.

use

A whole range of traditions, rules and laws are associated with the Finnish flag and its use.

Flag days

Waving war flag in Helsinki

In Finland there are both official and so-called naturalized flag days.

During the official flag days, which are also stipulated by law, the Finnish flag must be raised on public buildings. This applies to the following days:

• February 28 - Kalevalan päivä / Kalevadagen , Finnish Culture Day
• May 1st - vappu / första maj , Finnish Labor Day
• the second Sunday in May - Mother's Day
• June 4th - puolustusvoimain lippujuhlan päivä / försvarets fanfest , day of the army flag festival
• Saturday between June 20th and June 26th of each year - Juhannus , Midsummer Festival and Suomen lipun päivä / Finlands flaggas dag , Finnish flag day
• December 6th - itsenäisyyspäivä / självständighetsdagen , Independence Day
• Days on which national or local elections as well as European elections take place or referendums are held across the country
• the day on which the President of the Republic of Finland is inaugurated

In addition, it is customary to raise the Finnish flag on the naturalized flag days, but it is not mandatory. The following days are affected by this regulation:

• February 5th - JL Runebergin päivä / Runebergsdagen , Johan-Ludvig-Runeberg day
• March 19 - Minna Canthin päivä / Minna Canthdagen , Minna Canth Day - day of equality
• April 9th ​​- Mikael Agricolan päivä / Mikael Agricoladagen , Mikael Agricola - Finnish Language Day
• April 27th - kansallinen veteraanipäivä / nationella veterandagen , National Veterans Day
• May 12 - JV Snellmanin päivä / Snellmansdagen , Finnish Culture Day
• the third Sunday in May - memorial day for the fallen
• July 6th - Eino Leinon päivä / Eino Leinodagen , Eino-Leino day, day of poetry and summer
• October 10 - Aleksis Kiven päivä / Aleksis Kividagen , Aleksis Kivi Day, Finnish Literature Day
• October 24th - Yhdistyneid Kansakuntien päivä / FN-dagen , UN Day
• November 6th - ruotsalaisuuden päivä / svenska dagen , Swedish Culture Day
• the second Sunday in November - Father's Day
• December 8 - Jean Sibeliuksen päivä / Jean Sibeliusdagen , Jean Sibelius Day, Finnish Music Day (since 2011)

The Sami and Ålanders also have their own flag days for their official flags.

Rules for flagging

Every Finn has the right to fly the Finnish flag when he sees fit. Private occasions, for which the flag is often hoisted, are, for example, weddings, birthdays, honoring special guests or high school graduation celebrations. In the event of deaths, flags are displayed at half-mast .

The legal flag days are binding for state and municipal institutions and flags are also used on the naturalized days. Most private individuals also hoist flags on these days; In apartment blocks or housing estates, this is usually done by the caretaker or caretaker.

The national flag is hoisted at 8 a.m. and taken down at sunset - but no later than 9 p.m. There are three exceptions to this rule:

• on the day of the Finnish flag , the flag is hoisted on the eve of the midsummer festival at 6 p.m. and only taken down on the day of the midsummer festival at 9 p.m.
• on Independence Day the flags end at 8 p.m.
• on election days when the polling stations are open until after sunset, flags will end at 8 p.m.

Compliance with these times is only binding for the public institutions of the state and municipalities; however, it is part of good style and is therefore usually followed closely by private individuals.

destruction

If necessary, a Finnish flag must be destroyed by incineration or cut into such small parts that it can no longer be recognized as a flag and then distributed as several times as possible in the residual waste.

Criminal offenses

who

• the Finnish flag publicly damaged,
• used them dishonestly or
• removes a publicly visible flag without permission,

is guilty of desecrating the Finnish flag (Suomen lipun häpäiseminen / skymfande av Finlands flagga) .

who

• unauthorized use of the presidential flag or any other state flag,
• uses a flag that does not have additional symbols or
• sells a flag as a Finnish flag that does not comply with the laws and regulations in terms of color or dimensions,

is guilty of violating the rules on the Finnish flag .

Characters

In the Unicode standard, the flag can be represented as a combination of the regional indicators ? ( code point U + 1F1EB in the Unicode block Additional enclosed alphanumeric characters ) and ? (U + 1F1EE): ??.

Other flags used in Finland

In addition to the flag of Finland, the following flags are used regionally or on certain occasions:

• Åland flag
• Flag of the Sami
• Flag of Finland Sweden
• European flag

Web links

Commons : Flags of Finland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the flag on the website of the President of Finland Error 404 - Sivua ei löytynyt
• Flag Act ( Finnish Version / Swedish Version )
• Flag Ordinance ( Finnish Version / Swedish Version )
• Decision of the State Council (Cabinet) on the coloring of the Finnish flags ( Finnish version / Swedish version )
• Flags of the World - Finland (Engl.)
  • Illustration of the presidential flag with the freedom cross

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Sisääsiainministeriö: The days the Finnish flag is flown ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ finlex.fi: Förordning om flaggning med Finlands flagga May 26, 1978/383 (2 §) / Asetus liputuksesta Suomen lipulla May 26, 1978/383 (2 §)
3. ↑ Sisääsiainministeriö: Flying the Finnish flag ( Memento of the original from February 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Sisääsiainministeriö: Times of day the flag should be flown ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ finlex.fi: Förordning om flaggning med Finlands flagga May 26, 1978/383 (4 §) / Asetus liputuksesta Suomen lipulla May 26, 1978/383 (4 §)
6. ↑ ^{a b} finlex.fi: Laki Suomen lipusta May 26, 1978/380, 8 §
7. ↑ ?? Flag for Finland Emoji. In: Emojipedia . Retrieved February 18, 2018 .