Flag of Finland

Republic of Finland
	National flag
Use	Civil flag and ensign
Proportion	11:18
Adopted	28 May 1918
Design	Sea-blue Nordic cross on white field.; Dimensions:; 4:3:4 (vertically); 5:3:10 (horizontally)
State flag
Use	State flag and ensign
Proportion	11:18
Adopted	1978
Design	Sea-blue Nordic cross on white field, rectangular Coat of Arms of Finland (colours gold and silver on red)
Tailed state flag
Use	War flag and naval ensign
Proportion	11:19
Adopted	1978
Design	Sea-blue Nordic cross on white field, rectangular Coat of Arms of Finland (colours gold and silver on red), swallow-tailed. ; Dimensions:; 4:3:4 (vertically); 5:3:6:5 (horizontally)
Flag of the president of the Republic of Finland
Use	Presidential standard
Proportion	11:19
Adopted	1918
Design	Sea-blue Nordic cross on white field, rectangular coat of arms of Finland (colours gold and silver on red), swallow-tailed, Cross of Liberty in canton (colors gold on blue)
Use	Naval jack
Proportion	1:1
Adopted	1918
Design	A white field with the coat of arms of Finland in the center

Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox flag with unknown parameter "Type"

The Flag of Finland (Finnish: Suomen lippu, Swedish: Finlands flagga), also called siniristilippu ("Blue Cross Flag"), dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

The state flag has a coat of arms in the centre, but is otherwise identical to the civil flag. The swallow-tailed state flag is used by the military. The presidential standard is identical to the swallow-tailed state flag but also has in its upper-left corner the Cross of Liberty after the Order of the Cross of Liberty, which has the president of Finland as its grand master. Like Sweden's, Finland's national flag is based on the Nordic cross. It was adopted after independence from Russia, when many patriotic Finns wanted a special flag for their country, but its design dates back to the 19th century. The blue colouring is said to represent the country's thousands of lakes and the sky, with white for the snow that covers the land in winter. This colour combination has also been used over the centuries in various Finnish provincial, military, and town flags.

^ Jeroen Temperman (2010). State Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-9004181489. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Many predominantly Christian states show a cross, symbolising Christianity, on their national flag. Scandinavian crosses or Nordic crosses on the flags of the Nordic countries–Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden–also represent Christianity.
^ Varpio, Yrjö (1980). Väinö Linna: toisen tasavallan kirjailija. Söderström. p. 235. ISBN 9789510100813. Retrieved 23 October 2014. Suomen lippu ei juuri yhdisty mielissämme kristinuskon ristiin.
^ Carol A. Foley (1996). The Australian Flag: Colonial Relic or Contemporary Icon. William Gaunt & Sons. ISBN 9781862871885. Retrieved 31 December 2007. The Christian cross, for instance, is one of the oldest and most widely used symbols in the world, and many European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Greece and Switzerland, adopted and currently retain the Christian cross on their national flags.
^ Andrew Evans (2008). Iceland. Bradt. ISBN 9781841622156. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Legend states that a red cloth with the white cross simply fell from the sky in the middle of the 13th-century Battle of Valdemar, after which the Danes were victorious. As a badge of divine right, Denmark flew its cross in the other Scandinavian countries it ruled and as each nation gained independence, they incorporated the Christian symbol.
^ Suomen lippu muistuttaa kristillisistä arvoista Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Rauhantervehdys 41/2013. Retrieved 3 August 2015. (in Finnish)

[Jeroen_Temperman-1] Jeroen Temperman (2010). State Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-9004181489. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Many predominantly Christian states show a cross, symbolising Christianity, on their national flag. Scandinavian crosses or Nordic crosses on the flags of the Nordic countries–Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden–also represent Christianity.

[Linna1980-2] Varpio, Yrjö (1980). Väinö Linna: toisen tasavallan kirjailija. Söderström. p. 235. ISBN 9789510100813. Retrieved 23 October 2014. Suomen lippu ei juuri yhdisty mielissämme kristinuskon ristiin.

[Carol_A._Foley-3] Carol A. Foley (1996). The Australian Flag: Colonial Relic or Contemporary Icon. William Gaunt & Sons. ISBN 9781862871885. Retrieved 31 December 2007. The Christian cross, for instance, is one of the oldest and most widely used symbols in the world, and many European countries, such as the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Greece and Switzerland, adopted and currently retain the Christian cross on their national flags.

[Andrew_Evans-4] Andrew Evans (2008). Iceland. Bradt. ISBN 9781841622156. Retrieved 31 December 2007. Legend states that a red cloth with the white cross simply fell from the sky in the middle of the 13th-century Battle of Valdemar, after which the Danes were victorious. As a badge of divine right, Denmark flew its cross in the other Scandinavian countries it ruled and as each nation gained independence, they incorporated the Christian symbol.

[5] Suomen lippu muistuttaa kristillisistä arvoista Archived 9 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Rauhantervehdys 41/2013. Retrieved 3 August 2015. (in Finnish)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]