On August 23, 2024, Ukraine will celebrate the Day of the State Flag of Ukraine, with corresponding events involving government bodies, enterprises, institutions, organizations, and the public.

Standard

One of the main state symbols is the Flag of Ukraine. The State Flag of Ukraine consists of two equal horizontal stripes of blue and yellow colors. The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 2:3.

History

Yellow and blue colors were often used on banners and coats of arms of princes and nobility. In the 14th century, these colors were present on the coat of arms of the Galicia-Volhynia Principality. King Danylo of Galicia, when founding Lviv, chose a golden lion on a blue background for the city's coat of arms.

The combination of yellow and blue colors is also found during the Cossack era. The flags of the Zaporizhian Host were blue banners with golden ornaments (depicting a knight or images of saints).

During the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921, the same color scheme was used in the state flag of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The Central Rada, headed by Mykhailo Hrushevsky, adopted the Law on the State Flag of the republic on March 2, 1918.

In January 1918, near the Kruty railway station, legendary Ukrainian soldiers - the Heroes of Kruty - entered battle with the Russian occupiers under this flag.

In November 1918, the blue-yellow flag became the state symbol of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic. In 1939, this banner also became the state symbol in Carpathian Ukraine.

After Ukraine gained independence following the collapse of the USSR, the blue-yellow flag became the State Flag. Officially, the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine secured this status for it in September 1991.

Flag Day

The celebration of the State Flag Day began only in 2004, when the President of Ukraine signed the corresponding decree. Before that, the holiday was celebrated only in Kyiv at the local level. The annual ceremony of raising the State Flag throughout Ukraine on August 23 began only in 2009, when President Yushchenko made changes to the official documents.

Precedent

The first Ukrainian city where the State Flag was raised over the city council building at the dawn of Independence was Stryi. It was there on March 14, 1990, that the first precedent in Ukraine of publicly raising the Ukrainian national flag over an official Soviet institution occurred.

Symbolism

There are many disputes regarding the interpretation of the symbolism of the State Flag of Ukraine. According to one version, the yellow color symbolizes the sun, higher spirituality and the Creator, while the blue symbolizes the earthly and the earth itself. In the context of elements, yellow and blue are also interpreted as fire and water.

Traditionally, the colors of the State Flag of Ukraine are also interpreted as a harmonious combination of peaceful sky and wheat field.

Records

On August 23, 2007, the largest flag of Ukraine (1350 m²), made by Maria Belyatkova, the widow of a Donetsk miner, was entered into the Book of Records of Ukraine. The flag is called "Donetsk Flag".

In 2016, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, representatives of the Guinness Book of Records at the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine in Pyrohovo (Kyiv) recorded a world record - the largest flower carpet in the world in the colors of the State Flag of Ukraine. This is 13,057 m² of flower carpet.

Already on Independence Day, August 24, the record of the flower carpet was also entered into the National Register of Records of Ukraine, because as the flowers bloomed, the flag became larger by 8 m².

Symbol of struggle

Since the beginning of the Revolution of Dignity, and later the war in Donbas, the State Flag of Ukraine has become a symbol of the struggle for Ukraine's independence and sovereignty, the freedom of its citizens and human rights.

In support of our State during these difficult days, people around the world are holding rallies with Ukrainian flags.

With these flags, activists and participants of the Revolution held back the pressure of "Berkut" officers on the barricades in Kyiv.

On February 24, 2022, under this flag, the Armed Forces of Ukraine entered the fight against the Russian aggressor.