The flag of Galicia appeared for first time in the 19th century, probably based on the colours of the ancient medieval flags of the

Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia ( gl, Reino de Galicia, or ''Galiza''; es, Reino de Galicia; pt, Reino da Galiza; la, Galliciense Regnum) was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire north ...

. Originally, the flag was probably a blue St Andrew's Cross over a white field –

St Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

is one of the most popular saints in Galicia. The Coat of Arms of Galicia was actually the former flag of the Kingdom of Galicia. The colors blue, white and gold were always related with Galicia. The chalice, with a

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

host, and the golden crosses on blue background have been its symbol since medieval times (13th century). For some time it was thought that it was based on the flag of the maritime province of Corunna, but today it is known that the design is earlier.

Origin

During the 19th century, many thousands of

Galicians Galicians ( gl, galegos, es, gallegos, link=no) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group from Spain that is closely related to the Portuguese people and has its historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance la ...

emigrated to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, with

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

being the main Galician port from which the emigrants departed. Tradition has it that the Galician emigrants thought that the A Coruña naval flag flying on the

emigrant Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

ships was actually the flag of Galicia. Therefore, when they arrived at the new world they started flying the A Coruña naval flag, believing this to be the flag of Galicia. Years later, the flag crossed the Atlantic back to the homeland, where it was officially adopted as the new flag of Galicia.

Design

Originally, the flag for the maritime province of A Coruña was a blue St Andrew's Cross over a white field –

is one of the most popular saints in Galicia, where 72 parishes are devoted to him. This flag closely resembled the

flag of Scotland The flag of Scotland ( gd, bratach na h-Alba; sco, Banner o Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the ...

– an interesting coincidence considering that, according to legend, the Gaelic peoples of Britain and Ireland originally came from Galicia. In 1891 the St Andrew's Cross flag had to be modified because it was causing confusion with the flag of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. Hence, it was decided to drop one of the arms of the cross. The result was the modern Galician flag.

Specification

The law of symbols of Galicia (29 May 1984) regulates the official colours, proportions and uses of the Galician symbols. The symbols of Galicia are the

civil flag A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of civil flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not crewed by the military. In some countries, ...

, which is the blue and white flag, the coat of arms of Galicia, and the flag, which is the result of adding the coat of arms over the civil flag. The coat of arms of Galicia was actually the former flag of the

prior to the creation of the modern flag in the 19th century. In the early 1980s, the

Royal Galician Academy The Royal Galician Academy ( gl, Real Academia Galega, RAG) is an institution dedicated to the study of Galician culture and especially the Galician language; it promulgates norms of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary and works to promote the l ...

asked the

Galician Government The Xunta de Galicia (; "Regional Government of Galicia") is the collective decision-making body of the government of the autonomous community of Galicia, composed of the President, the Vice-President(s) and the specialized ministers (''Consell ...

to incorporate the former flag of the Kingdom of Galicia onto the modern flag. The result of that suggestion was the State Flag. The State Flag features the Galician coat of arms over the common civil flag, and it is the official flag that must be displayed in all institutional events of the national and local governments in Galicia. "''The flag of Galicia shall have the official Coat of Arms when displayed on public buildings and institutional events in Galicia''", Law 5/1984 of Symbols of Galicia, Article 2.2.

Historical flags

File:Bandeirareinogaliza.svg, Flag of the

(16th century)

Other flags

File:Bandeira galega socialista.svg,

Estreleira The estreleira is the flag used by Galician nationalists{{Cite web , url=http://www.xabierpita.es/2008/06/chumbo_para_resucitar_aos_fusi.php , title=''Chumbo para resucitar aos fusilados''. , access-date=2017-02-09 , archive-url=https://web.arch ...

File:Nunca Máis Flag.jpg, "Nunca Máis" * Many

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Galician

nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

add a five-pointed red star to the Galician flag to show their support of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

. This flag was adopted as the official logotype of the

Bloque Nacionalista Galego The Galician Nationalist Bloc ( gl, Bloque Nacionalista Galego, BNG ) is a political alliance of left-wing Galician nationalist parties. It is self-defined as a "patriotic front". Formed in 1982, under the guidance of historical leader Xosé Man ...

(Galician National Party). * Following the oil spill of the petrol tanker ''

Prestige Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...

'' off the Galician coast in 2002, Galician demonstrators used a Galician flag dyed in black with the phrase ''Nunca Máis'' (Never Again). This flag has become a very popular symbol for environmental activism in Galicia.

References

External links

The Galician Flag in the Flags of the World's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flag Of Galicia Galicia, Flag of Galician symbols History of Galicia (Spain) Galicia Galicia