Hawthorne Hotel's Flags of the Week ~~ May 21 through 26, 2012

Every Sunday we post a list of the flags that we will fly in the coming week on this blog.  We show images of a few of them, along with some basis information about those flags.  We hope you enjoy learning just a little bit more about the world around us.

Monday , May 21 Sri Lanka and Minnesota

The flag of Sri Lanka, also called the Lion Flag, consists of a gold lion, holding a kastane sword in its right fore paw, in front of a crimson background with four golden bo leaves, one in each corner. Around the background is a yellow border, and to its left are 2 vertical stripes of equal size in saffron and green, with the saffron stripe closest to the lion. The lion represents the Sinhalese ethnicity and the bravery of the Sri Lankan nation while the four Bo leaves represent Mettā, Karuna, Mudita and Upekkha. The orange stripe represents the Sri Lankan Tamils, the green stripe represents Sri Lankan Moors, and the maroon background represents the majority of Sinhalese, like the lion, this is the color used in early flags of Sri Lanka by kings.

It was adopted in 1950 following the recommendations of a committee appointed by the 1st Prime Minister of Ceylon, The Rt Hon D.S. Senanayake.



Tuesday , May 22 Sudan and Mississippi

The committee to design a State Flag (for Mississippi) was appointed by legislative action February 7, 1894, and provided that the flag reported by the committee should become the official flag. The committee recommended for the flag "one with width two-thirds of its length; with the union square, in width two-thirds of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltier thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one extending the whole length of the flag.

Wednesday , May 23 Suriname and Missouri

The flag of Suriname is formed by five horizontal bands of green (top, double width), white, red (quadruple width), white, and green (double width). There is a large, yellow, five-pointed star centered in the red band.

The flag was adopted on November 25, 1975, upon the independence of Suriname. The star represents the unity of all ethnic groups, the red stripe stands for progress and love, the green for hope and fertility, and the white bands for peace and justice.

Thursday , May 24 Swaziland and Montana
Friday , May 25 Switzerland and Nebraska
Saturday , May 26 Sweden and Nevada
Sunday , May 27 Syrian Arab Republic and New Hampshire

I hope to see you here.

Juli