The oldest flag and the odd-shaped ones
Denmark's red flag with a white CROSS, called the Dannebrog, is usually said to be the oldest national flag still in use. A legend tells that it fell from the sky during a battle in Estonia in 1219, though historians date it rather later. Almost every national flag is a rectangle, but there are exceptions. Nepal's flag is two stacked triangles, the only national flag that is not four-sided, and the law describing how to draw it includes step-by-step geometry instructions. Switzerland and the Vatican City both have square flags.
Most flags look the same from both sides, but Paraguay's has a different emblem on the back from the front. From 1977 to 2011, Libya's flag was plain green with no design at all, the only national flag of a single colour. The Philippines has a rule that its flag is flown upside down, with the red stripe on top instead of the blue, when the country is at war.
The Union Jack is three flags in one
The UNION JACK combines three crosses: the red cross of Saint George for England, the white diagonal SALTIRE of Saint Andrew for Scotland, and a red diagonal cross for Saint Patrick, added when Ireland joined the union in 1801. Wales is not represented, because it was already joined to England when the first version was made, so the Welsh flag, with its red DRAGON, is entirely separate. Our saints page covers the saints behind the crosses.
The flag has a right way up. The white diagonal stripes are wider on one side of the red ones than the other, and the wide white stripe should be at the top next to the flagpole. The name Jack probably comes from the jack staff, the small pole at the front of a ship where it was flown.
Maps, maple leaves and a flag made in a hurry
Canada's red and white flag with a MAPLE leaf was chosen in 1965 after months of argument in parliament, replacing a flag that included the British Union Jack. Cyprus and Kosovo both put a map of their own country on their flags. The STARS and STRIPES of the United States have changed more than two dozen times as states joined, as our Fourth of July page explains. Many flags use a CRESCENT, a star, an EAGLE, a SHIELD or an EMBLEM from a country's history.
Speaking the language of flags
The study of flags is called vexillology, from the Latin for a small flag. The half of a flag nearest the pole is the HOIST, and the other half the fly. The CANTON is the top corner by the pole, where the United States puts its stars. A TRICOLOR has three stripes of colour, like the flags of France, Italy and Ireland. An ENSIGN is flown by ships, a PENNANT is a long tapering flag, a royal STANDARD marks where a king or queen is present, and BUNTING is a string of small flags. Flying a flag halfway down the FLAGPOLE is a sign of mourning. The COLOURS are a regiment's flag, and a BANNER can carry any SYMBOL at all.