May 28 - Flag Day in the Philippines

Posted on May 28, 2019



Red, white, and blue - familiar colors for a flag! (Check out this recent post for a review of red-white-and-blue flags!)

But the Philippines jazz up their red, white, and blue with yellow stars and sun - very nice!

There are three stars, each representing a different main island group: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.


And there are eight main rays coming from the sun, each representing a different province of the Philippines.






Of course, every aspect of the flag represents something, so in addition to symbolizing the various island groups and provinces, here are the symbols mentioned in at least one official document (there are variations):

The white equilateral triangle represents liberty, equality, and fraternity.

The blue stripe represents peace, truth, and justice.

The red stripe represents patriotism and courage.

Interestingly, the flag is sometimes turned upside down, so that the red stripe is on top. The times when this occurs are in times of war - and I guess those are the times when patriotism and courage are trumping peace, truth, and justice! But maybe it shouldn't be that way!







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