It's Tradition After all! It’s as quintessentially English as Fish’n’Chips, Coronation Street and moaning about the weather. It used to be yet another exercise in that most classical English sporting trait of getting wildly optimistic about our nation’s athletes and then cursing their gallant but predictable demise once it got serious. But not anymore! Since the newly-knighted Sir Andy Murray...
Spring is well and truly here which amongst other things, means it's almost time to celebrate that most English of days, St. George's Day! St. George's Day was at one time a national holiday in England. It is now more of an event that is celebrated in some areas with parades, dancing and similar activities. Yet it’s popularity and prominence...
Simply speaking, a flag is just a piece of material flown from a mast or pole, yet each flag design is bursting with history… The use of flags can date back to around 1000 BC, when the Egyptians used to use primitive versions of flags. Since then, flags have grown to become a symbol, often representing geographical regions, countries and...
Whether you’re Irish or Irish at heart, St Patrick’s Day is an international festival, bringing everyone together with a whole lot of drinking, dancing and green outfits! St Patrick’s Day or St Paddy’s Day as it’s more colloquially known, is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17. Traditionally, St Patrick’s Day marks a celebration of the life of...
The annual Six Nations Rugby championship is one of the most illustrious tournaments on the rugby calendar. Each year, the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy battle it out to be crowned kings of the nations. Close neighbours will battle for victory, with Scotland and Ireland kicking off the Six Nations 2017 tournament on Saturday 4th...
The current flag of Venezuela was adopted on 12th March 2006. The flag consists of a horizontal tricolour of yellow, blue and red. Across the blue band is an arch of eight white stars. The inclusion of the National Coat of Arms in the top left corner is optional. The use of a tri-colour of yellow, blue and red dates...
The flag of Vietnam consists of a yellow star on a red background. Red is the colour often associated with the international communist movement. The Vietnam flag uses red to symbolise its social revolution and the blood lost in achieving this. The star represents the five classes of society in Vietnam – intellectuals, farmers, workers, businessmen and military. Prior to...
One of the most recognisable national flags has to be the iconic Australian flag which displays the Union Jack along with the Commonwealth Star and the Southern Cross on a blue field. So, when was the Union Jack first seen on Australian soil? Lieutenant James Cook (a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy) landed at Botany...
In Ancient times, the Armenian’s would enter battle displaying carvings such as dragons, lions or eagles mounted on poles. With the introduction of Christianity, the Armenian’s adopted a number of different flags which represented the various dynasties – the flags again incorporated images such as eagles and lions. In the 19th century, Armenia was split between the Persian and the...
On 22nd May 1990, Yemen (Republic of Yemen) became one country after the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen. The Flag of Yemen was adopted on 22nd May 1990. The flag is the same as the Arab Liberation Flag of 1952. This flag was the inspiration for the flags of North and South Yemen prior to unification. The design...
