Flag of Lithuania

The national flag of Lithuania () consists of a horizontal tricolour of yellow, green, and red. It was adopted on 25 April 1918 during Lithuania's first period of independence (1918–1940), which ceased with the occupation first by the Soviet Union, and then by Nazi Germany (1941–1944). During the post-World War II Soviet occupation, from 1945 until 1988, the Flag of the Lithuanian SSR consisted first of a generic red Soviet flag with the name of the republic, in 1953 that was changed to the red flag with white and green bands at the bottom.

The flag was then re-adopted on 18 November 1988, about 1.5 years before the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence and almost three years before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The last alteration to the current flag occurred in 2004, when the aspect ratio changed from 1:2 to 3:5.

History

thumb| Battle flag with the [[Vytis, 1410, reconstruction]]

thumb| National flag (1918–1940)

Historical state flag

The earliest known flags with a Lithuanian identity were recorded in the 15th-century Banderia Prutenorum, written by Jan Długosz. At the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, two distinct flags were present. The majority of the 40 regiments carried a red banner depicting a mounted knight in pursuit. This flag, known as the Vytis, would eventually be used as the Lithuanian war flag, and again in 2004 as the state flag. The remaining regiments carried a red banner displaying the Columns of Gediminas. Those that bore the Vytis were part of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian army, while those who bore the Columns of Gediminas were from Lithuanian nobility. Until the end of the 18th century, when it was annexed by the Russian Empire, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania used the Vytis as its flag.

Creation of modern flag

thumb|Flag used by participants of the [[Vilnius Conference in 1917]]

The birth of the yellow, green, and red tricolour occurred during a drive by other European republics to change their flags. One example that gave life to the idea of the tricolour was the French blue, white, and red flag adopted after the French Revolution. The only tricolour that existed for Lithuania before the yellow, green, and red flag was a green, white, and red flag used to represent Lithuania Minor. At the Great Seimas of Vilnius of 1905, this flag was favoured over the Vytis banner as the flag of the Lithuanian nation. The Vytis, strongly advocated by Jonas Basanavičius, was not chosen for three reasons: the first was that as part of the drive for national identity, the Seimas wished to distance itself somewhat from the flag of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which also encompassed now-distinct nations such as Belarus and Ukraine. The second issue was the choice of the colour red by revolutionaries who aligned themselves with Marxist or Communist causes. And finally, the flag with Vytis would be too complicated and could not be easily sewn.

thumb|The Lithuanian triband at the Culture Congress in [[Kaunas, 1927.]]

Debates about the national flag occurred again in 1917 during the Vilnius Conference. Two colours, green and red, were chosen based on their prevalence in folk art. Artist Antanas Žmuidzinavičius decorated the conference hall with small red and green flags. However, the delegates did not like the design as it was too dark and gloomy. However, the delegates decided that the matter should be settled by a special commission, composed of Basanavičius, Žmuidzinavičius, and Daugirdas. On 19 April 1918, they submitted their final protocol to the Council of Lithuania. The flag was supposed to be a tricolour (yellow at the top, green in the middle, and red at the bottom) with Vytis in the upper left corner or in the middle.

Restoration of modern flag

thumb| Flag of Lithuania from 1988 to 2004. The flag had a 1:2 ratio at the time.

thumb|Flag of Lithuania on top of [[Gediminas's Tower|Gediminas Castle]]

During 1988, when the Lithuanian movement towards independence was gaining strength, the Lithuanian Supreme Soviet again recognised the tricolour as the national flag, by amending article 168 of the Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Lithuanian SSR. The flag was defined as rectangular tricolour which consists of three equally sized horizontal stripes: the upper is yellow, the middle is green, the lower is red; the flag ratio was to be 1:2 (as that of Soviet flags). This flag was confirmed by the Provisional Constitution of 11 March 1990 No. I-10.

After independence from the Soviet Union, the tricolour flag was written into the new Constitution of Lithuania, which was adopted by a referendum in 1992.

Design and symbolism

thumb|Construction sheet of the national flag

Passed on 26 June 1991, the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Lithuanian State Flag (Law No. I-1497) governs the design, sizes and use of the state flag. The law was amended on 8 July 2004, (Law No. IX-2331) with the most notable changes including the switching of the national flag ratio from 1:2 to 3:5 and the official adoption of a historical flag as the state (government) flag. The amendment came into force on 1 September 2004, after it was approved by President Valdas Adamkus.

The yellow in the flag is meant to symbolise the sun and prosperity, the green is for the forests, the countryside, liberty, and hope, and the red represents the blood and bravery of those who have died for Lithuania.

| Pantone

| 15-0955 TP / 1235 c/u

| 19-6026 TP / 349 c/u

| 19-1664 TP / 180 c/u

| RGB was proposed by Česlovas Juršėnas, the vice-speaker of the Seimas, and by Edmundas Rimša, the chairman of the Commission of Heraldry. This flag was also proposed at the same time as the grand coat of arms; both were meant to honour the 750th anniversary of the coronation of Mindaugas in 1253 (anniversary took place in 2003). This was one of the few flags considered to become the national flag during the drive for national independence. Several other countries, including Finland, Spain, Venezuela, Germany and Thailand, have an official national flag for civilian use and a state flag for government use.

In 2008, the project intended to draft state flag was formed by the Commission of Heraldry. It concluded work in 2010. The designer of the State (historic) flag was Arvydas Každailis, who also designed the coat of arms. On 17 June 2010, this state flag proposal was adopted.

Under the National Flag Law, the state flag is permanently hoisted at three locations: the Royal Palace of Lithuania, Trakai Island Castle, and the grounds of the Vytautas the Great War Museum in Kaunas. In addition, the flag is hoisted at the following locations on these days:

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"

! Date !! English name !! Remarks

| 1 January || Flag Day || Commemorating the day when the national flag was first raised on the Gediminas Tower in 1919

| 13 January || Freedom Fighters Day || In memory of the January Events in 1991

| 16 February || Day of Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania (from the Russian Empire, 1918) || Hoisted with the Latvian and Estonian flags

| 24 February || Day of Independence of Estonia || Hoisted with the Latvian and Estonian flags

| 11 March || Day of Restitution of Independence of Lithuania (from the Soviet Union, 1990) || Hoisted with the Latvian and Estonian flags

| 29 March || NATO Day || In honour of Lithuania's accession to NATO in 2004; hoisted with the Flag of NATO

| 1 May || European Union Day || In honour of Lithuania's accession to the European Union in 2004; hoisted with the Flag of Europe

| 9 May || Europe Day || Commemorates the 1950 establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community by the Schuman Declaration

| 15 May || Day of Convening of the Constituent Seimas || In honour of the Constituent Assembly of Lithuania

| 14 June || Day of Mourning and Hope || Marks the date of the first mass deportation of Lithuanians to Siberia in 1941; the flag is marked for mourning

| 15 June || Day of Occupation and Genocide || Marks the beginning of Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940; the flag is marked for mourning

| 6 July || Statehood Day || Commemorates coronation of the first king, Mindaugas, in 1253

| 15 July || Day of the Battle of Grünwald || Commemorates the victory of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Knights in 1410

| 23 August || Day of Black Ribbon || Marks the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in 1939; the flag is marked for mourning

| 31 August || Freedom Day || Marking the final departure of the Red Army from Lithuania in 1993

| 23 September || Day of Genocide of Lithuanian Jews || Marking the destruction of the Vilnius ghetto by Nazi Germany in 1943

| 25 October || Constitution Day || Commemorating the adoption of the national constitution in 1992

| 18 November || Proclamation Day of the Republic of Latvia|| Hoisted together with the Latvian and Estonian flags

| 23 November || Armed Forces Day || Commemorating the establishment of the Lithuanian Armed Forces in 1918

Apart from these days, the flag is flown at election polling sites. The national government, under Article 4, Section 7 of the flag law, is given the authority to call for the display of the national flag and to determine special conditions, such as marking for mourning. The naval jack is identical to the historical state flag of Lithuania. A masthead pennant has been adopted by the Lithuanian Navy to use on their ships.

The President of Lithuania was officially given a standard by the Seimas from 26 January 1993, with color shades standardized on 18 February. The standard is the coat of arms of Lithuania that supported by griffon and unicorn charged in the center on a single-color background. Under state law, the background color is stated as purple, but the color used in practice is dark red. The ratio of the standard is 1:1.2.

Each county of Lithuania has adopted a flag, each of them conforming to a pattern: a blue rectangle, with ten instances of the Cross of Vytis (double cross or) appearing in gold, acts as a fringe to the central feature of the flag, which is chosen by the county itself. Most of the central designs were adapted from the counties' coat of arms.

Later national flag proposals

left|thumb| The main proposal for the Lithuanian state flag change from 1940

Even though all members of the Council of Lithuania agreed with the flag proposal, some were unsatisfied with the adopted national flag claiming it to be very similar to national flags of Colombia and Ethiopia. Serious deliberations on changing the Lithuanian flag began in 1936. One of the greatest supporters for the flag change during the interwar period was a famous artist Mstislav Dobuzhinsky who claimed that the current flag of Lithuania did not meet the standards of heraldry. In 1938, Dobuzhinsky consulted with Lithuanian philosopher Vydūnas who provided him with information on the historical flag of Lithuania Minor. Dobuzhinsky convinced President Antanas Smetona that the flag must be changed. According to journalist and collector Vilius Kavaliauskas, "The explanation was simple: the colors of the flag had to match those of the coat of arms. No green color was present in the coat of arms. What is interesting that Smetona was convinced and, possibly on 8 May 1940, he convened a meeting with the Commission of Heraldry where it was decided to change the Lithuanian flag." Any further considerations regarding the flag change ended with the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union in June 1940.

References

External links

Seimas of Lithuania – History of the national flag of Lithuania
Mirror
VEXILLOGRAPHIA - Флаги Литвы