Flag of Finland

What the flag of Finland looks like

The national flag of Finland, called Suomen lippu or in everyday speech siniristilippu (the "blue-cross flag"), is a white rectangle with a blue cross. The cross is the Nordic type: its vertical arm is set toward the hoist rather than in the center. The proportions are 11:18, which makes the flag a little longer and narrower than many others.

The measurements are fixed by law. The height is divided into three parts of 4:3:4 and the width into 5:3:10, so the cross is three units wide in an 11-unit height. The blue is a deep shade often described as sea blue, and it is darker than the blue of the Swedish flag, which is a lighter, brighter hue.

There are two main versions. The national flag is the plain cross and is flown by everyone. The state flag, used by government offices, has a swallowtail form and the Finnish coat of arms (a crowned lion on a red field) placed at the crossing of the cross. The military uses its own variants. See the Finland flag emoji for the small version.

Finland flag meaning and symbolism

The usual explanation is that blue represents Finland's thousands of lakes and the sky, and white represents the snow of the long winters. This reading is very widespread, and it matches the idea of the Finnish landscape described in 19th-century national poetry. It is not an official definition: the law describes the flag's shape and colors, but gives no meanings.

The cross is a Christian symbol and it shows Finland's place among the Nordic countries. Blue and white were already used as national colors before independence, and they were popularized by the writer Zacharias Topelius, who wrote in the 1860s about the lakes and snow of Finland. His text spread the idea that these colors were the natural colors of the land.

History of the Finnish flag

During the time that Finland was a grand duchy of the Russian Empire (1809-1917), it had no national flag of its own. Ideas for one came from the Finnish national movement in the 19th century. Early proposals included blue and white, which were popular among students and the national romantic movement, and a red and yellow flag linked to the lion on the coat of arms. A blue cross on white, in the style of the Nordic flags, became a favorite in the years before independence.

Finland declared independence in December 1917. After the civil war of 1918, a proposal for a red and yellow flag with the lion of the coat of arms was set aside, and the blue cross on white was approved as the national flag at the end of May 1918. The design is credited mostly to Eero Snellman, with the artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela drawing the state flag and the presidential flag. The rules on the flag were rewritten in 1978 and are now set out in the Act on the Flag of Finland.

The Finnish flag is flown on official flag days, which include Independence Day on 6 December and Midsummer Day. Citizens may fly it at any time of the year, but the traditional hours are from 8 a.m. until sunset.

Finland and the other Nordic flags

Finland is often grouped with Sweden, Norway and Denmark, since all four use the Nordic cross. The Finnish flag differs from them in having a white field and a blue cross, with no other colors. Greece's flag also has blue and white, but in stripes and with a cross in a canton.