Flag of Galicia

The modern flag of Galicia was created in the 19th century as a copy of the naval flag of the Galician city of A Coruña.

During the 19th century many thousands of Galicians were emigrating to the Americas. A Coruña was the main Galician port where most of them departed from. Tradition has it that the Galician emigrants thought that the A Coruña naval flag flying on the emigrant ships was actually the flag of Galicia. Therefore, when they arrived to the new world they started flying the A Coruña naval flag, believing that it was the flag of Galicia. Years later, the flag crossed the Atlantic back to the homeland, where it was officially adopted as the new national flag of Galicia.

"The Galician Flag has only two colours: white and blue. The field is white and a blue band crosses the flag from the top-right corner to the bottom-left". This description was published in 1898 in the newspaper "El Eco de Galicia", in La Habana, Cuba.

The St Andrew's Cross on the Galician flag

Originally, the naval flag of A Coruña was a blue St Andrew's Cross over a white field. St Andrew is one of the most popular saints in Galicia, where 72 parishes are devoted to him.

In 1891 the St Andrew's Cross over the A Coruña naval flag had to be modified because it was causing confusion with the flag of the Imperial Russian Navy. Hence, it was decided to drop one of the arms of the cross. The result was the modern Galician flag.

The State flag of Galicia

The Galician Law of May 29, 1984 regulates the official colours, proportions and uses of the Galician symbols. The national symbols of Galicia are the civil flag, which is the blue and white flag, the Coat of Arms of Galicia, and the state flag, which is the result of adding the Coat of Arms over the civil flag.

The Coat of Arms of Galicia was actually the former flag of the Kingdom of Galicia prior to the creation of the modern flag in the 19th century. In the early 1980s The Royal Academy of Galicia (Real Academia Galega) asked the Galician Government (Xunta de Galicia) to incorporate the former flag of the Kingdom of Galicia onto the modern flag. The result of that suggestion was the State Flag. The State Flag features the Galician Coat of Arms over the common civil flag, and it is the official flag that must be displayed in all institutional events of the national and local governments in Galicia.

"The flag of Galicia shall have the official Coat of Arms when displayed on public buildings and institutional events in Galicia", Law 5/1984 of Symbols of Galicia, Article 2.2.

Other flags commonly seen in Galicia

* Many left-wing Galician nationalists add a five-pointed red star to the Galician flag to show their support of socialism or communism. That flag was created during the decade of the 1970s inspired on the flag of Yugoslavia and has been adopted as the official logotype of the Bloque Nacionalista Galego (Galician National Party).

* The Flag of the Swabian Dynasty of the Kingdom of Gallaecia is reputedly the historical banner of the kings of Gallaecia (4th-5th century AD). This flag is increasingly becoming a popular feature on public gatherings in Galicia such as football matches or political demonstrations.

* During the oil spill of the petrol tanker Prestige off the Galician coast in 2002, Galician demonstrators used a Galician flag dyed in black. This flag has become a very popular symbol for environment activism in Galicia.

* The Holy Grail has been the symbol of the Kingdom of Galicia for almost a millennium. The Holy Grail appeared documented as the arms and banner of the kings of Galicia in the Segar Armorial, compiled in England circa 1282. The way the Holy Grail is depicted as the national Arms of Galicia has been changing constantly over the past centuries. Originally, the Holy Grail appeared like protected into a glass box, and later the glass box disappeared. Also, the very first Grails appeared plain and alone in the flag with no crosses or stars around it. Later, during the 16th century, a variable number of crosses started to be added around the Grail for decorative purposes. The current standard design of the Galician Coat of Arms was established in 1972 by the Royal Academy of Galicia.

References

;Websites
* [http://fotw.vexillum.com/flags/es-ga.html The Galician Flag in the Flags of the World's website]