Flag Day – When & What Is It?
National Flag Day of Canada – When & What Is It?
On February 15, 1965 the flag as we know it today with its iconic red and white stripes and maple leaf, was raised for the first time at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario.
On the same day in 1996, 31 years later, National Flag Day of Canada was proclaimed. It seems to be a rather well kept secret even among Canadians 🙂
So here are a number of random facts courtesy of https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-flag-canada-day.html
– Canada’s official colours of red and white were approved by King George V in the proclamation of the Royal Arms of Canada in 1921.
– The stylized maple leaf on the flag has eleven points. Unlike the U.S.A. flag where each star represents a state, the points on our flag do not represent the provinces. Each province has their own flag.
– Canada is the only country with a maple leaf on its flag.
– The Canadian flag is twice as long as it is wide. The white panel with the maple leaf makes up half the surface of the flag equal to the two red bars combined.
– The flag was brought to the highest point in the world, Mount Everest in 1982 by Canadian mountaineer Laurie Skreslet and was launched into space in 1984 on the flight with the first Canadian astronaut on the space shuttle Challenger.
Prior to the acceptance in 1965 of the Maple Leaf as we know it, Canada flew the Red Ensign between 1868-1965, a red flag with the Union Jack in the upper corner and originally the shield of Canada in the right. The shield was modified several times over the years. In 1921 Canada’s new official coat of arms took its place on the Canadian Red Ensign with green maple leaves and in 1957 the maples leaves were changed from green to red.
The maple leaf is recognized throughout the world as a symbol of Canada and has come to symbolize unity, tolerance and peace.
As a company we have made a commitment to only sell Canadian made Canada flags. These are more expensive for all of us, but we have definitely seen the quality difference and feel strongly that it is only appropriate to fly a Canadian made Canada flag 🙂