THE NORDIC CROSS FLAG, A SYMBOL OF CHRISTIANITY

Today, The Grandma has been reading about the Nordic cross flag, a symbol shared by the Scandinavian countries, that was adopted by Denmark on a day like today in 1748.

A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross, a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist.

All independent Nordic countries have adopted such flags in the modern period, and while the Nordic cross is named for its use in the national flags of the Nordic nations, the term is used universally by vexillologists, in reference not only to the flags of the Nordic countries but to other flags with similar designs.

The sideways cross is also known as the Cross of Saint Philip the Apostle, who preached not in Scandinavia but in Greece, Phrygia and Syria instead.

The cross design represents Christianity, and the characteristic shift of the centre to the hoist side is early modern, first described in the Danish civil ensign (Koffardiflaget) for merchant ships in a regulation of 11 June 1748, which specified the shift of the cross centre towards the hoist as the two first fields must be square in form and the two outer fields must be 6⁄4 lengths of those.

The Danish design was adopted for the flags of Norway (civil ensign 1821) and Sweden (1906), both derived from a common ensign used during the Union between Sweden and Norway 1818-1844, as well as Iceland (1915) and Finland (1917); some subdivisions of these countries used this as inspiration for their own flags.

The Norwegian flag was the first Nordic cross flag with three colours. All Nordic flags may be flown as gonfalons as well.

Note that some of these flags are historical. Also, note that flag proportions may vary between the different flags and sometimes even between different versions of the same flag.

The Flag of Greenland is the only national flag of a Nordic country or territory without a Nordic Cross. When Greenland was granted home rule, the present flag -with a graphic design unique to Greenland-  was adopted in June 1985, supported by fourteen votes against eleven who supported a proposed green-and-white Nordic cross.

More information: Trip Savvy

 Denmark is, like, the flattest country on Earth.

Lars Mikkelsen