[Video] Flag Friday! Eritrea

By Facts.co

The national flag of Eritrea consists of a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles - the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue. A gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle

Red represents the blood shed in the fight for freedom
Green symbolizes the agriculture and livestock of Eritrea
Blue stands for the bounty of the sea
the wreath with the upright olive-branch symbolizes peace and prosperity. The 30 leaves symbolise the number of years spent in civil war before achieving independence.

On September 15, 1952, Eritrea became independent from British rule and was made an autonomous part of Ethiopia. Since the United Nations (UN) had helped the country obtain independence from British rule, the 1952 Eritrean flag was designed with a light blue background to honour the UN (UN flag has a light blue background) The 1952 Eritrean flag had an olive wreath in the centre, symbolising peace. The wreath encircled a six-leafed plant which represented the six administrative divisions of Eritrea.

Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie annexed Eritrea in 1962. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front, which spearheaded Eritrea's fight for independence, adopted its own official flag in January 1977. The flag had three triangles: red, blue, and green. The yellow star in the red triangle symbolised the country's rich mineral resources.

After Eritrea was proclaimed an independent nation, Eritrean People's Liberation Front's flag was made national flag with one major modification - a gold wreath symbol with 14 leaves on each side, derived from the 1952 flag, replaced the gold star in the red triangle, The first official hoisting of the new national flag was performed on May 24, 1993.

In 1995 the number of leaves in the wreath were standardised. The 30 leaves symbolise the number of years spent in civil war before achieving independence. The flag's length to breadth ratio was changed from 2:3 to 1:2

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