NorthStar Flags

Windmills and tulips describes the Netherlands, the original home of the windmills. And the tulips, well the Netherlands as well export billions of these bulbs annually, making the country the world’s biggest exporter of this commodity.

The Dutch has a saying “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland” a statement that describes the will and effort of its people to protect the Netherlands against the onslaught of the sea. As it is 65% of the nation will be flooded daily because most of it is below sea level, so they have built 2,400 kilometers of dikes to shield the low flatlands, a form of defense and national undertaking that started some 800 years ago.

The reclamation of the Zuider Zee created 165,000 hectares of land fit for farming – a precious commodity for a densely populated country. Owing to this magnificent feat, 60% of the nation is farmed, not just haphazardly but efficiently by just 2% of the workforce.

A country located at the mouth of the Rhine River, the Netherlands is a gateway to northwestern Europe. Aside from agriculture, it also thrives on natural gas production that provided the funds for the country’s subsidized welfare system; the continuing flood control efforts; for cleaning up the Rhine and North Sea; and restore damage to forests because of the effects of acid rain.

The first ruler of the Netherlands was William of Orange, and out of respect for his involvement in the war of independence from Spain, the Netherlands National Flag adopted is a horizontal tricolor of orange, white and blue. But the hue orange tended to be unstable and turns red when exposed indefinitely, thus red was used instead.

Windmills and tulips describes the Netherlands, the original home of the windmills. And the tulips, well the Netherlands as well export billions of these bulbs annually, making the country the world’s biggest exporter of this commodity.

The Dutch has a saying “God made the Earth, but the Dutch made Holland” a statement that describes the will and effort of its people to protect the Netherlands against the onslaught of the sea. As it is 65% of the nation will be flooded daily because most of it is below sea level, so they have built 2,400 kilometers of dikes to shield the low flatlands, a form of defense and national undertaking that started some 800 years ago.

The reclamation of the Zuider Zee created 165,000 hectares of land fit for farming – a precious commodity for a densely populated country. Owing to this magnificent feat, 60% of the nation is farmed, not just haphazardly but efficiently by just 2% of the workforce.

A country located at the mouth of the Rhine River, the Netherlands is a gateway to northwestern Europe. Aside from agriculture, it also thrives on natural gas production that provided the funds for the country’s subsidized welfare system; the continuing flood control efforts; for cleaning up the Rhine and North Sea; and restore damage to forests because of the effects of acid rain.

The first ruler of the Netherlands was William of Orange, and out of respect for his involvement in the war of independence from Spain, the Netherlands National Flag adopted is a horizontal tricolor of orange, white and blue. But the hue orange tended to be unstable and turns red when exposed indefinitely, thus red was used instead.

The inspiration to Santa Claus reindeer may have come from Norway’s Sami (or Lapps, the largest population of Arctic reindeer herders – some 30,000) society, the reindeer being central to their traditional nomadic lifestyles – though it has become nearly a thing of the past. Norway is partitioned by mountains, it has fjord-gashed shoreline that exceeds 21,000 kilometers and after the Vikings left in the ninth century, it has survived from the bounty of the sea. It has managed to raise the industry to new levels in fact its fishing flotilla hauls Western Europe’s biggest catch.

Obviously the bulk of the revenue for Norway is from oil and gas that was first drilled in the 70’s in the North Sea, and this had been used to subsidize public health and welfare programs. The country has manifested a sustainable economic growth rate compared to many European countries owing to its oil revenue as the world’s third largest oil exporter.

At present Norway is luring tourist to its spectacular fjords by opening the 24.5 kilometers tunnel on the main Oslo-Bergen highway. The Laerdal tunnel, being the world’s longest road tunnel in 2000 (a third longer than the St. Gotthard in Switzerland) is a tourist attraction in itself for it features immense caverns that were designed to simulate sunshine, to help refresh drivers and provide them amenities to pull over.

The almost 5million citizens gives allegiance to the National Flag of Norway, red in color with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white that extends to the edges of the flag. The vertical part of the cross is designed off-center and placed nearer to the hoist side, similar in context to the Dannebrog, the Danish flag.

Nowhere in the world can people see explosive geysers, or relax in natural geothermal spas, and witness glacier-fed waterfalls like the Gullfoss (Golden Falls), or if you are adventurous then whale watching will be best for you. All of these activities lure more than a quarter of a million visitors and tourists to the facilities in Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland.

Iceland boasts of the world’s oldest functioning national assembly (Parliament), the Althingi responsible for approval of “The Law of the National Flag of Icelanders and the State Arms,” officially promulgated on June 17, 1944, the day Iceland became a republic. The Iceland National Flag is as blue as the sky, with a fiery-red cross inside the snow-white cross, with the arms extended up to the edge of the custom flag.

For the people of Iceland, the flags color is a depiction and vision of their country’s landscape. It stood for the three elements that make up the islands. Red is for the fire produced by the island’s volcanoes, white represents the ice and snow that covers Iceland, while blue is for the great span of the Atlantic Ocean.

Due to Iceland’s proximity to active volcanoes, all of the electricity generated to run manufacturing plants, lighting and heating requirements come from hydroelectric power plants and geothermal water reserves.

Since glaciers cover more than 10% of the island, the Gulf Stream and warm southwesterly winds creates a moderate effect on the climate, so most of the over 295,000 residents occupy the country’s southwest.

Iceland’s economy is dependent on the industry like fish processing, aluminum, smelting, ferrosilicon production, and also agriculture that provides potatoes, green vegetables, chicken pork and fish.

Easter Rising of 1916 is significant in the history of Ireland because it was the first attempt by the militant Irish Republican of a rebellion staged during the Easter Week to win independence from British rule. Symbolically, the flag raised above the General Post Office in Dublin in 1916 came to be regarded as the National Flag of Ireland and was later officially adopted in 1919 by the Irish Republic, during its war of independence.

The Ireland National Flagis a vertical tricolor of green, white and orange. The color green has always been associated with Ireland as a nation and its inclusion in the flag represents the older majority of Gaelic tradition and the militant revolutionary groups within. Orange on the other hand represents the minority who were supporters of William of Orange (William III, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 – Prince of Orange from birth). The white at the center signifies truce between the two opposing cultures, thus living together in peace.

But, the design and color of the custom flag serve to symbolize the aspiration of hoped-for-union of different people and tradition on the island of Ireland. This testament is embodied in the Constitution of Ireland, as it becomes the right of every person of Irish origin to be part of an independent nation, regardless of ethnic origin, religious or political beliefs.

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic, which had coastal mountains in the west and interior agricultural lowlands, blessed with abundant hills, lakes and bogs.

The Republic of Ireland occupies only about 83% of the Irish island, because Northern Ireland in the northeast opted to remain a province of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Easter Rising of 1916 is significant in the history of Ireland because it was the first attempt by the militant Irish Republican of a rebellion staged during the Easter Week to win independence from British rule. Symbolically, the flag raised above the General Post Office in Dublin in 1916 came to be regarded as the National Flag of Ireland and was later officially adopted in 1919 by the Irish Republic, during its war of independence.

The Ireland National Flagis a vertical tricolor of green, white and orange. The color green has always been associated with Ireland as a nation and its inclusion in the flag represents the older majority of Gaelic tradition and the militant revolutionary groups within. Orange on the other hand represents the minority who were supporters of William of Orange (William III, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 – Prince of Orange from birth). The white at the center signifies truce between the two opposing cultures, thus living together in peace.

But, the design and color of the custom flag serve to symbolize the aspiration of hoped-for-union of different people and tradition on the island of Ireland. This testament is embodied in the Constitution of Ireland, as it becomes the right of every person of Irish origin to be part of an independent nation, regardless of ethnic origin, religious or political beliefs.

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic, which had coastal mountains in the west and interior agricultural lowlands, blessed with abundant hills, lakes and bogs.

The Republic of Ireland occupies only about 83% of the Irish island, because Northern Ireland in the northeast opted to remain a province of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Legoland has reference to the lego blocks – toys developed in Denmark and had gained worldwide popularity, particularly among children. And together with its palaces, gardens and the creation of Tivoli in 1843 (a world famous amusement park) are the main attractions of Copenhagen (the capital) in the mainland of Jutland. It plays host to more visitors and tourists than any Nordic City.

Denmark is in northern Europe, consisting of 406 islands and the mainland being Jutland. 64% of the entire country is fertile and among the flattest in the world, thus its main source of revenue is agricultural product – pork (meat products), fish and dairy products, which found a ready market since its membership to the European Union.

This country served as the bridge between the European mainland and the Scandinavian peninsulas and has been a vital link to the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) defense umbrella since 1949.

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, a system of governance that is as old as its symbol, the Denmark flag that dates back to the 14th century. Dannebrog (Danish cloth) or the Flag of Denmark is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends up to the edges of the flag and the vertical part of the cross is designed closer to the hoist side. The cross design of the Danish Flag was subsequently the inspiration of other Nordic Countries.

The legend of the flag and popular among the Danes, although many considers it as a myth; that during the Battle of Volsmerlaget (June 15, 1219) the flag fell from the sky at the critical time of the conflict, thus ensuring a Danish victory.

The Siniristilippu (Blue Cross Flag) is officially the Flag of Finland that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The flag is bare except for a blue Nordic Cross on a white background that extends up to the edges, with the vertical part placed off-center nearer to the hoist. Blue represents the thousand lakes and the sky, while white suggests snow that covers the land during winter and white nights of the Finnish summer.

Finland covers an area of over 338,184 square kilometers, is low-lying in the south and center while mountains is in the north. As the territory lies in the Arctic Circle, it experiences long and harsh winters. The population of over 5 million is concentrated on the areas formed by the cities of Helsinki (the capital), Tampere, and Turku.

Owing to its terrain coniferous trees inhabit the forests and with more than 180,000 thousand lakes, expect the winters to be really ice laden. So, the country maintains an armada of icebreakers to keep the ports operational during the long winters. The growing season is short, but despite it, Finland is self-sufficient in meat, grains, and dairy products. For several years, wood and paper based industries dominated the nation’s exports, but metal and engineering industries are catching up and even surpass the forest industry in terms of revenues.

Russian rule in 1809 broke six centuries of union with Sweden. And the Finns declared independence in 1917 but had to give up some parts of their territory to the Soviets in World War II. Once the USSR dissolved in 1991, Finland strengthened it ties with the west and joined the European Union.

The “the battlefield of Europe” or “the cockpit of Europe” is the moniker of Belgium, because its history of being always on the forefront of conquests and epic saga’. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, several battles between European powers were fought in Belgium. And even during the World Wars where it was invaded by Germany, it thus became the favorite arena for European powers, further strengthening its reputation.

After the Wars though, Belgium has acquired a facelift, it became a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters. Other major international organizations also made Belgium their home, including NATO the defense umbrella of Western Europe. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometers and has a vibrant population of about 10.5million people.

The population is diverse that led to the revision of the constitution, giving autonomy in culture and economy to the different federal states. It gave recognition to Flanders in the north with 5.8million people where the official language is Dutch; Wallonia in the south with 3.3million people and French is the official language; the Brussels-Capital region with 950,000 people where both languages are spoken; and a small German-speaking community also in Wallonia with about 70,000 people.

Despite its diversity and long history of conflicts, the Belgian people stood by only one symbol, the Belgium National Flag characterized by three equal vertical bands of black, yellow and red, a design inspired by the flag of France, while the colors are from the Duchy of Brabant.

The flag had been in use since January 23, 1831, after the Belgians gained their independence from the Netherlands in 1830.

The “the battlefield of Europe” or “the cockpit of Europe” is the moniker of Belgium, because its history of being always on the forefront of conquests and epic saga’. From the 16th century until the Belgian Revolution in 1830, several battles between European powers were fought in Belgium. And even during the World Wars where it was invaded by Germany, it thus became the favorite arena for European powers, further strengthening its reputation.

After the Wars though, Belgium has acquired a facelift, it became a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters. Other major international organizations also made Belgium their home, including NATO the defense umbrella of Western Europe. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometers and has a vibrant population of about 10.5million people.

The population is diverse that led to the revision of the constitution, giving autonomy in culture and economy to the different federal states. It gave recognition to Flanders in the north with 5.8million people where the official language is Dutch; Wallonia in the south with 3.3million people and French is the official language; the Brussels-Capital region with 950,000 people where both languages are spoken; and a small German-speaking community also in Wallonia with about 70,000 people.

Despite its diversity and long history of conflicts, the Belgian people stood by only one symbol, the Belgium National Flag characterized by three equal vertical bands of black, yellow and red, a design inspired by the flag of France, while the colors are from the Duchy of Brabant.

The flag had been in use since January 23, 1831, after the Belgians gained their independence from the Netherlands in 1830.