Country
|
Flag
|
Key Facts
|
United States |
|
The United States flag has 50 stars, one for each state in
the country. There are also 13 stripes representing the 13 colony that first
formed the United States. |
Canada |
|
Several people participated in designing the Canadian flag. The final
determination of all aspects of the new flag was made by a 15-memberparliamentary
committee. It officially became the national flag on February 15, 1965, now recognized
as Canada's Flag Day. |
Britain |
|
The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is sometimes called the Union Jack. This red, white, and blue flag was first used in 1801.
The Union Jack is a combination of the flags of England, the cross of St.
George. Scotland, the cross of St. Andrew. And Ireland, the cross of St.
Patrick. |
France |
|
The flag of France
sometimes called the 'Tricolor.'
The flag consists of three equal vertical bands of blue (on the hoist
side), white, and red. |
Germany |
|
The German flag is a horizontal tricolor, with black, red, and yellow stripes. The colors of the flag were the colors of the German soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars. |
| Australia |
 |
The Australia flag has three main design elements on a deep blue background:
The British Union Jack flag is in the upper left corner, noting Australia's ties to Great Britain.
The Southern Cross constellation 5 stars on the right side of the flag, noting
major navigational constellation in the Southern Hemisphere.
The large, white, seven-pointed Commonwealth Star also called the Star of
Federation. It symbolizes the original states of Australia. |
| China |
 |
China's national flag has a red field with five golden-yellow stars (each with five points) in the upper left corner. The star on the left is larger than the other four.
The red color of the flag symbolizes revolution. The large star symbolizes the Communist Party (which rules China) and the smaller stars represent the people of China. |
| Japan |
 |
The Japanese Flag is a white banner whose center contains a red
circle, which represents the Sun. The Japanese flag is called 'Hinomaru', which means "circle of the
Sun." In English it is sometimes called the "rising Sun." |
| India |
 |
The Indian flag has three equal horizontal bars (saffron, white and green) with a blue Dharma Chakra (the wheel of law) in the center. The wheel has 24 spokes, representing the 24 hours in a day
At the end of each spoke is a dark blue half-moon.
The orange (deep saffron) symbolizes courage and sacrifice (saffron is the sacred color of Hinduism). The white stands for peace, unity and truth. The green stands for faith (Islam) and fertility. The blue symbolizes the sky and the ocean. |
