Aruba's national flag (
) was adopted on March 18, 1976. The design consists of a field of light blue (called "Larkspur" or "U.N. blue"), two narrow parallel horizontal yellow ("Bunting Yellow") stripes in the bottom half, and a four-pointed white-fimbriated red ("Union Flag red") star in the canton. The design elements have multiple symbolic meanings:
- The blue field represents the sky, the sea, peace, hope, Aruba's future and its ties to the past.
- The two narrow stripes "suggest the movement toward status aparte". One represents "the flow of tourists to sun-drenched Aruba, enriching the island as well as vacationers", the other "industry, all the minerals (gold and phosphates in the past, petroleum in the early 20th century)".[1] In addition to sun, gold, and abundance, the yellow is also said to represent wanglo flowers.
- The star has particularly complex symbolism.
- It is vexillologically unusual in having four points, representing the four cardinal directions. These refer in turn to the many countries of origin of the people of Aruba. They also represent the four main languages of Aruba: Papiamento, Spanish, English, and Dutch.
- The star also represents the island itself: a land of often red soil bordered by white beaches in a blue sea.
- The red also represents blood shed by Arubans during war, past Indian inhabitants, patriotic love, and Brazil wood.
- The white also represents purity and honesty.
March 18 is a public holiday in Aruba, known as Flag Day and it is celebrated through carnivals and fairs.
External links
- Aruban Flag on government website www.aruba.com
- How Aruba's Flag Was Chosen by Sarah Bollinger
- Aruba at Flags of the World
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| Royal Standard · Coat of arms | ||
| Countries |
Aruba · Netherlands · Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire · Curaçao · Saba · Sint Eustatius · Sint Maarten) |
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| Dutch provinces |
Drenthe · Flevoland · Friesland/Fryslân · Gelderland · Groningen · Limburg · North Brabant · North Holland · Overijssel · South Holland · Utrecht · Zeeland |
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| Sovereign states | Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Grenada · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Jamaica · Mexico · Nicaragua · Panama* · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Trinidad and Tobago* · United States |  |
| Dependencies and other territories |
Anguilla · Aruba* · Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Greenland · Guadeloupe · Martinique · Montserrat · Navassa Island · Netherlands Antilles* · Puerto Rico · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Martin · Saint Pierre and Miquelon · Turks and Caicos Islands · U. S. Virgin Islands | |
| * Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (South America). | ||
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| Sovereign states | Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Guyana · Panama* · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago* · Uruguay · Venezuela |  |
| Dependencies | Aruba* (Netherlands) · Falkland Islands (UK) · French Guiana (France) · Netherlands Antilles* (Netherlands) · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) | |
| * Territories also in or commonly reckoned elsewhere in the Americas (North America). | ||
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| National flags | Sovereign states · Dependent territories · Unrecognized states · Formerly independent states |
| National coats of arms | Sovereign states · Dependent territories · Unrecognized states |
