#flag news

[vexillology-for-brains]

The State of Maine Has Chosen a Final Design!!

This is the new design of the Maine state flag that will be voted on by the public in November!

Personally, I feel that this design will be spectacular flying across a state that has become a second home to me as I've been living in the Portland area for work this summer. I can safely say that if I was registered to vote in Maine I'd be thrilled to have this as my official state flag. I only hope it passes this coming fall. It's been interesting seeing all of the various 'pine tree flag' designs that several members of the community had made. While I didn't see all of the submissions, just this specific design being worked on, I'm told that many of the submissions will be made public for viewing.

I'm not the biggest fan of the fact that the green is two-toned, an opinion I held in the final drafting meeting, but I believe that it may grow on me. It's a nice touch that will be visible up close and look nice on TV broadcasts while not being distracting from a distance. And from a distance you'll still be able to tell that it's a green eastern pine tree. I like the asymmetrical tree, it’ll stand out a lot. The background color, which is called ‘buff’ is also distinct and should look great at a distance.

The design prompt was to base the modern flag on the 1901 pine tree design. And the panel of Maine judges went through a lot and I mean a lot of design configurations for the pine tree. They were happy with this one, the Maine Secretary of State was happy with this one, and NAVA was happy with it after we redesigned the tree several times.

I'm excited to say that I was a (very small) part in the final drafting process this past Sunday (Aug. 4, 2024) with the designers and more experienced NAVA members. In attendance was our amazing Secretary Ted Kaye, and the Maine Secretary of State: honorable Shenna Bellows, and the designer Adam Lemire, among other vexilographers. I'm happy I can finally talk about this publicly, even a day not talking about it drove me crazy.

As I was present for the final drafting meeting, for any interested in more details can send me an ask or reblog and I'll respond as best I can. I won't have all the answers seeing as I'm not exactly the most senior member of NAVA, but also consider this as a general blog AMA.

I can't wait to welcome a new changed state flag later in 2024! Have a great day y'all! (Just realized this is two posts in less than a week, NEW RECORD!)

[flags-n-shit]

FLAG NEWS: Ongoing Transition

On the 7th of December, 2024, the government of Syria was overthrown by revolutionaries, putting an end to the Assad regime and, hopefully, the civil war. A transitional government was put in place, alongside a de facto flag change.

Flag of Syria from 1980-2024: Flag of Syria from 2024-present:

Both flags use the Pan-Arab colours, with red, white, black and green each representing a historical Islamic Caliphate. The old flag originated from a time when Egypt and Syria were united. It is based on the flag of Egypt, with two green stars added for the two nations. Syria kept this flag even after the union dissolved.

The new flag is actually the older of the two, with the design dating to the First Syrian Republic, founded in 1930. The flag was adopted upon Syria's independence from France, and is therefore associated with freedom by the opposition, who repurposed it for the revolution.

[polgeonow]

US State of Mississippi Adopts New Flag

Mississippi officially raised its new flag on Jan. 11, after after going flagless for over 6 months.

New free article!

[vexillology-for-brains]

Kyrgyzstan Flag Change Updates

With a new Olympics upon us, I've been keeping my eyes peeled for interesting flag events and accidents. But I also get to talk more about the Kyrgyzstan flag change!

THERE IT IS! For the first time, I and probably most of the world, have seen the new Kyrgyz Republic flag in the wild, on a flagpole, actually flying.

From what I've seen, all of the Olympic uniforms that carry the Kyrgyz flag also use the updated version of the national flag with the straightened sun rays.

Wikipedia has also updated the Kyrgyzstan page and related pages with the new design, so this design really is going forward at full force.

While the nature of the flag change was not the most democratic event in recent flag-design changes, many Kyrgyz citizens were strongly against the change and related expenses, I'm happy to see the Kyrgyz athletes and their enthusiasm while they wave this new flag of their nation and represent their people in the Olympic Games.

I'll probably end up making a long post of flag related trivia and goofs that the French commit because they've already screwed up with hoisting the Olympic banner upside down in the opening ceremony.

See y'all soon!

[vexillology-for-brains]

I’m sorry folks, it happened. They’re officially changing the flag. Get your Kyrgyz flags before the change so you can have a cool antique in the future.

[vexillology-for-brains]

New National(?) Flag Change in Syria

So, hey, sorry I've been kind just off the grid for a while. College is crazy sometimes.

As a lot of y'all probably know, the Assad regime in Syria fell after rebel forces took Damascus. The leaders of the rebel group have taken de facto control of Syria, and we're seeing various consulates and embassies around the world adopting a new (well old) flag.

The new flag is actually an older flag of Syria that was used two different times. The first instance was from 1930 to 1958 (First and Second Republics of Syria) and then 1961 to 1963 (Syrian Arab Republic).

Each color represents a historical Islamic empire, the white for the Umayyad dynasty, the green for the Rashidun caliphate, black for the Abbasid dynasty, and the red for the Hashemite dynasty.

Each color (except black) also represents something symbolic, with the red being the blood shed in the struggle for freedom, white the bright and peaceful future, and green the takbir, or Allahu akbar, or Allah is Great. The three red stars represent the tree major cities within Syria: Damascus, Aleppo, and Deir ez-Zor.

The new flag being used bring hope to the land of Syria, as the new de facto government has released a lot of political prisoners and appears to seek more democratic rule. The new de facto government was largely supported by the Turkish government, and there's no guarantee that the new Syrian Transitional Government will become a new Syrian Republic, or if this is sadly a temporary peace in a continuation of the Syrian Civil War.

For now, though, new flag, and hopefully continuing peace.

[vexillology-for-brains]

Kyrgyzstan Flag News

Well, it looks like I made my account at the perfect time, as I have some interesting news coming out of central Asia from TODAY

The Kyrgyz Republic's parliament has met and passed a bill that they're going to begin the process of possibly changing their NATIONAL flag, from what I understand. This is massive, even if Kyrgyzstan is a small nation with a small population, a nation changing the main symbol that represents themselves on the world stage is huge, and more than likely will take years for all organizations all over the world to replace the old with the new should the alteration go through.

Above is their current flag, which everyone probably knows as "X-box Land" from memes and internet culture.

Thankfully, the 'X-box' logo is staying, and the the proposed plan will simply straighten the rays coming from the sun so that it appears more like a sun, rather than a sunflower as many people see it as.

The far left is the current flag. The middle is the new proposition that is most likely the top contender if a change is made. The third flag is a proposed variant with darker colors.

The main concern by certain politicians within Kyrgyzstan is that the cost of this small change will not be worth the billions of dollars to change over the official national flag. Replacing hundreds of thousands of flags on government buildings, military vehicles and equipment, press to spread the word of the change is going to cost a ton of money, money that Kyrgyzstan might not be able to spare.

What Should Kyrgyzstan Do? (According to you)

Keep Current Design

Change flag to Middle Option

Change flag to Third Option

Voting ended onNov 29, 2023

[acawiedersehen]

So a lot of people were interested in the Barden University Flags...

But of the 10+ people that contacted me, only two actually purchased. If anyone else wants one, please let me know ASAP. **The flags are $15.03 each, excluding a small fee for shipping. ***The deadline will be January 15, that is when we'll be placing the order. ****All money will be handled through PayPal *****Anyone interested needs to send me a message ASAP ******All info is tagged under "Flag News"