The Truth in our Stars The Symbolism Behind Their Use in Flags
by Amy Langston
Abstract Stars may be the most commonly used geometric figure used on flags. Because of this distinction, they hold an important place not only in vexillology, but also in the field of symbology in general. In this paper, I explore the meaning of this symbolism and its frequency, then further detail the symbolism for the stars in flags used around the world. I also address how the properties of the stars relate to their symbolism, including the color, number of stars, number of points, arrangement, positioning within the flag, and other matters such as their political, mythical, and religious significance. This paper is an expanded version of a presentation delivered at NAVA 46 in 2012.
Introduction
Stars are one of the most common geometric symbols used today in vexillology. Among United Nations member states alone, nearly 45% of flags feature at least one star. They are also common in symbolism elsewhere; we see them on stickers, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, apparel, and furnishings. As such, addressing their signifi - cance, importance, and symbolism in flags is a highly relevant area of study.
Why stars? Why are stars so frequently used in flags? - They are highly symbolic. Stars can be used to symbolize nearly anything. They have become a default symbol to stand for any desired value or object of impor - tance. Not only that, but the stars carry symbolism by themselves, namely a reminder of the celestial bodies, and the divinity they represent, that have served as fascination to humans for millennia. - Versatility. Stars are versatile because the aspects of stars can contribute to the symbolism: arrangement, quantity, or number of points. These areas will be covered in detail in the subsequent sections. - Aesthetic and imaginative appeal. Of course it is subjective, but it is a generally held opinion that stars have a tasteful appearance. Compared to other shapes, they are not as plain as other shapes such as squares or triangles.
Number of stars As stated, stars are a default symbol to represent a thing or idea within the flag. In particular, the number of divisions or territories within a nation is a common mean - ing for multiple stars. Perhaps the most well-known example is the US flag, with each star representing a state within the Union.
Proceedings 25th International Rotterdam, The Netherlands 4 -10 August 2013 paper 9/ 1 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV
Current United States @ D@D- @D @E @D BA-@DBC Battle of Guilford
flag, @EAE- Courth ou se, @ CD@
There are other co untries that use stars to represent a num ber of divis ions as w ell.
D i i h
D ominica : the ten stars E quatorial Guinea : Six Hondur as : States of the
are for the ten parishes s tars for the five main is - former Republic of Cen -
lands and the mai nland tral America
S om e fla g s in US s ta te s featu re 13 sta rs for the 1 3 original colonies.
g
Georgia N orth Dakota . colonies, and still fe a - Rhode Island
It is worth noting that tures th e 13 s tars in the
North D akota is not one flag .
of the original 13
U S s tate fl ags also use a particular number of stars for their admissi on into the Union.
i i A rkansas M issouri
When a sin gle sta r is used on a flag, it usually symbolizes the unity of the nation or an
i mporta nt cultura l v alue.
Cuba Liberia
This trend is found in US state flags as well.
Massachusett T exas
Proceedings 25th International Rotterdam, The Netherlands 4 -10 Augus t 2 013 paper 9/ 2 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV
Number of points
Five-pointed stars have long been the rule for flags, although this was not always the case. Before the first US flag, six-pointed stars were most common. When sewing the new US colonies flag, it was found that five-pointed stars were much easier to sew than six-pointed stars, because there are less points involved. This began the tradi - tion of five-pointed stars for flags.
Due to this frequency, often the five points have no special significance to the star or flag. When the number of points is different, the symbolism is often something simi - lar to several stars, such as number of provinces or impo rtant virtues. The reason a smaller quantity of stars with many points i s chosen over several stars is to avoid an
excess of stars in the flag.
This section will present flags with stars of other than five points and what they mean, as well as flags with five-pointed stars where the fi ve points are symbolic of
something.
Australia and its territories
Australia’s flag features both the con stellation of the Cr ux A ustra lis and a n additio nal larger star under the Union Jack in the ca nton. E xcep t fo r a single five -poin ted star, each of the stars has seven points. The nu mb er of po ints with eac h s tar is related to
its respective star in the constellat ion and its brillia nce in th e sk y. Am ong the se ven-
pointed stars, six of the points symbolize A ustralia’ s six states , and the se venth is s ym -
bolic of Australia’s several terr itories collectively. Australia’s states and territories also
feature Australia’s depiction o f the Crux Australis in their own flags.
Christmas Island Victoria . Of note, while Cross. All of the territo - New So uth Wale s , o n bo lic of the S outhern
all of Australia’s states ries feature the Southern the o ther hand, fe atures Cr oss. The eight points
feature he U nion Jack in C ro ss e xcep t Norfolk Is - fo ur e ig ht- poi nted stars are a h oldove r fr om the their c anton, Vi ctoria is land . in i ts fla g. The eigh t- E ure ka Sto cka de flag .
t he o n ly of the sta tes to po i nte d s tars are sym -
als o featu r e the So u the rn
Dutch Caribbean par ticu la rly r el evant t o A ru b a is o ne of the few B on ai re ’s six -po inted C ura ça o fe ature s fiv e-
islands th is sect ion fo r the rea - p o litica l flags with a four - s tar is sym bolic of the six p ointed sta rs in it s flag.
All of the Dutch islands so n that their flags fea - p ointed star. The four regions of Bonaire. The points are symbolic
in the C aribbean featur e ture a fo ur and po ints symbo lize the four o f the fi ve contin ents
stars in their flag except six-pointed star, respec - cardinal directions. wher e its people claim
one, Sint Maarten. tively. ancestry from.
Aruba and Bonaire’s are
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S outh Pa cifi c
Stars are an important symbol to the people of the Pacific islands. In addressing num -
ber of points, two particular flags are important: the Marshall Islands and
Nauru. y g the cultural/political centers of the country.
The Mars hall I sland ’s points symboliz e the twe nty , sym bolizing the Naur u ’s flag f eatures a
flag features a twenty- twenty-four districts. cultural/political centers twelve-pointed star, sym -
four pointed star, more Four of the points are of the country. bolic of the t welve tribes
than any other flag. The longer than other native to the island.
M isc ellaneo us
The least number of points in a single star is three, featured in the flag of the Interna - tional Brigades. The three points are symbolic of continents where participants in the International Brigades came from.
Color
Color is important, as it may change the meaning and symbolism in the star. Because
colors have come to symbolize specific qualities in and of themselves, the color in the
star will often be intended to represent that particular quality. Occasionally, the star is
p resen t in th e flag so the color will be present in the flag.
The flag of Flags o f the Wo rld fe atures th e most common colors use d in flags.
B lack
The black star is a symbol of African freedom, and is occasionally used in African-re -
lated flags. Three African n ations feature a black star in t heir flag.
Ghana Guinea-Bissau São Tomé and Príncipe Somaliland ’s flag fea - monly featured in Arab
tures a black star. Black is flags, it is rarely used
one of the Pan-Arab col - within a star.
ors, an d while it is com -
There ar e no nati onal flags o utside A frica featu ring b lac k stars.
P roceedings 2 5th International Rotte rdam , The Ne therlands 4 - 10 Augu st 2013 paper 9/ 4 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV
Blue
Little inform ation exists to suggest any specific symbolism to blue stars. Honduras
and Panama are the only national flags featuring blue stars. However, blue stars ap -
pear on the flags of maritime-related organizations, such as shipping companies, and
sailin g and rowin g clubs. Perh aps this su gg ests the blu e symbolizes the water.
House flag of Metropol - Cercle de la Voile de Royal Australian Naval Nunavu t , Cana da. The sky, the star itself is the itan Shipping Ltd ., Paris , French sailing club Ensign . This is a reversal blue color is for the won - North Star.
Greek shipping company of the colors on the Aus - ders of e arth, sea, and
tralian national flag.
G reen
Gre en sta rs ar e sometim e s used in A rab-r elate d fl ags. Green is the most recognized
color of I slam, so it re lates to that. Mo st Arab or predominantly Isl amic co untries u se
green in the ir fl ags, but u s ua lly it is not in a star.
Iraq , 1963-1991 Y emen Arab Republic I n the flag of Senegal the jority cou ntry, so it possi - The Esperanto fla g is
gr een star is one of the bly doubles in symbolism one other flag w ith a Pan- African c olors. Sene - here. green star. The gre en is gal is also a M uslim-ma - supp osed to be “mutual
recognition”, the de -
si gner says.
Red
Re d sta rs, mor e p reci sely red five- pointed stars, ar e frequ e ntly a symbol of Commu -
ni sm. Orig ina lly, it was on ly a s ymbol of the USSR, but it evolved to become a symbol
of Communism in general. As a result of this, some European countries have banned
its use, notably Hungary.
USSR Y ugoslavia ence, and it has been A v ersion of t he E stela da nism . In th ose cases, the Some ha ve view ed the a dopt ed by sep ara tist, fl a g color red is the st ar sym - red star as a sym bol of re - g uerilla, or v ario us Leftist On a na tional le vel , there boliz es w ha t it do es gen -
sistance or independ - parties. are a few countries that erally: liberty, blood,
use a red star that do not strength, etc. associate it with Commu -
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Panama . In this flag, the Tunisia . The star blends
red and blue balance with the crescent moon.
each other, symbolizing
th e polit ica l p arties.
White W hite is th e m o s t com mo n colo r f or st a rs . S imil ar to ho w stars are a defaul t s h ape f or flags, wh ite is a defa ult color for stars. In ma ny ca ses, the whi te col or do es no t mean
anyth in g in pa rti c ular. I t is th e re bec a us e th e star ne eds a col o r, o r t he whi te o f the star pro vid es a n ice con trast against the othe r co lors in th e flag. Sti ll, th ere are a few cases w he re white doe s mean some thing.
Chile . In this flag, the Timor-Leste . The white is Nort h Ca rolin a , US A.
white is for the snow on for peace, a common T he white in the star is
the Andes. quality for white. for the default col or, and
to blen d i n w ith the
lower bar o n the fly.
Yell ow/Gold Gold is a color of prosperity and wealth. It is con sequently common to feature a gold star on a flag as a symbol of hope for a n ew nation .
Burkina Faso . The gold Grenada . The flag fea - Adygea , Russia. The yel - The Democratic Republic
star is featured here as tures gold stars as an low stars are symbolic of o f the Congo . The “pros -
one of the Pan-African homage to the people’s the wheat grown there, perity and h ope” prin ci -
colors. African heritage, and the and the quantity is for its ple applies here. Most of
numb er of st ars are for i ts divisions. C ongo’s flag s have fea - d ivisi ons. tured a yellow star.
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O
O
Atypical colors O
O
Copper —Arizona , USA Brown — Dutch Guiana , Orange —President of Purple —Guinea Bissau Silver —Nevada , USA 1954-1975. Here, the Indonesia Worker’s Party stars are symbolic the
continents the people of
Dutch Guian a come
from. O
Ar ran gement of th e Stars
O The majority of the time, the arrangement of stars in a flag does not have symbolism
i n a nd o f itsel f . Usuall y, the arr angement is de signed fo r pr actica l or aesthe tic reaso ns,
such as in fl ag o f the Ph ilipp ines . This se ction details the cases in w hich arran gement
is important.
Stars in the sky
As we have l earnt, stars som et im es sym bolize the cele stial s tars. When a flag us es
them for this p urpos e, th e stars are arran ged accordingly . Se veral Ocean ic countries
feature the Crux Australis constellation using stars in their flag, which not only sym - bolizes the significance of the night sky and constellations in general, but also sym -
bolizes th e importanc e of the Crux Au stral is t o tha t region of the worl d.
New Zealand Solomon Islands Tierra del Fuego Similarly , Alaska features ing Alaska's northerly lat -
Province, Argentina Ursa Major and the North itude.
Star in its flag, symboliz -
In contras t to thes e, Bra zil 's flag featu res th e n ight sky ov er Rio de Janeiro , as it ap - pea red on Novemb er 15 , 1889 . Becaus e it is n ot a co nstella tion, the arrange ment of
the stars here is less ordered.
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Cir cle of sta rs A ci rcle of s tars h as been a c om mon gen eric symb ol throughout time for un ity,
peace, and solidarity. The number of stars in the circle u sually means something. For
the two subsequent flags, the quantity of stars is for the quantity of islands in their re -
spective nations.
g quantity of stars is for the quantity of islands in their respective nations.
Cape Verde Cook Islands European Union . The Similarly, the flag of the to represe nt their un ity. In ad - ‘peace a nd s olida r ity’ U S sta te of T enn essee dition, Tenn essee w as the six - princip le applies here . featu res thre e stars, teenth sta te to b e admit ted to
which symbolize Ten - Union, which makes it the
nessee's three landforms, original thirteen colonies plus
arranged inside a circle, three.
S emic irc les
Several L a tin Am e rican en titie s feature s emicircles of stars.
Venezuela Manabí P rovince, M orazán Department,
Ecuador El S alvador
Mis cell aneous position that its islands lay.
Lastly, as an interesting case when it comes to arrangement, Tuvalu 's flag arranges
its stars in the position that its islands lay.
Geographic distribution can also be found in the flag of Ward County , Texas, USA.
Relig io us symbo lis m
Sta rs have been us ed as a sym bol by s ome re l igions . In a ncient relig io ns, a s w ell a s
m oder n-day natu r e- b ased relig io ns a nd r e vivals of anc ie n t faiths , stars w er e som e -
t imes rev e red a s rep res en tatio ns of the g od s. T h e sk y in g en era l , and th e t hings in it,
we re vie w ed w i th awe a s a n obj ect of i n spira tion . Be sides t he se, ther e ar e o the r r eli -
gions that use s tars with in their symbol ism .
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Because the most common symbol within Christianity is the cross, stars are a less common symbol for that faith, though occasionally a circle of stars is used in Chris - tian artwork, specifically Catholic. Interestingly, the designer of the EU flag notes reli - gious i nsp ira tion in de signing it. It is notable th at o f mo st countries that are histori cally Christian, stars are not featured in the flag. As such, we will be looking at other relig ions and their assoc iated fl ag s.
Islam Th e crescent mo on and star is th e pred o mina n t sym bol o f Isla m. It is feat ure d on many flags o f co untrie s with large Musl im popul ation s. Both symbo ls are seen on n a - tional fl ag s i n the vast majori ty o f cases, where as o n org anizati onal fla gs it is u suall y
only th e crescent, as the crescent is sometimes its own symbol independent of star.
The symbol of the crescent moon and star is actually of pagan origin, and conse -
quently, not all Muslims use it. In ancient times, the crescent moon was featured on
the flag of the city of Byzantium in honor of the gods of the local people. When the
O ttomans con quered t he are a, the y b egan using th e ci ty's fl ag and sym bol to repre - sent themselves. Ove r tim e, the symb ols b ecame asso ciated wi th Isla m.
N ow adays , m a ny cou ntrie s feature the cresc ent mo on an d star on t heir fl ag—only one co untry f e a tur es the cr e sce nt m oo n alo ne , the M a ldiv e s. N o t all o f these coun - tries a r e de vo ut ly I slam ic ; in fact, s e veral of the m are r un by secular g o vernments, and pra c tic e o f Isla m am o n g t he g ene ral pop ulatio n is n o t hig h . In these c ases, th e sy m - bol on the flag in dicate s that regardle ss of a ctual devo tional pra ctice, th e cre scent moo n and star is impo rtan t to the historic h eritag e a nd culture o f the nation .
The appearance of the crescent moon and star—particularly the star—is not uniform
across the flags. Stars with five points, over ten points, and multiple stars are all used.
There are eleven nations that feature the crescent moon and one or more stars on
their flag. For the flags with a single five-pointed sta r, the single star and five points
does not have any special sign ificance. It is a default symbol, like the five-pointed star is in other settings.
In flags with multiple stars or many points on a single star, the symbolism behind this
Pakistan Turkey multiplicity is unrelated to Islam.
Comoros : The four stars Uzbekistan : The twelve Azerbaijan : eight points Rif Republic , 1921-1926. with Judaism, but at this
sy mbolize the fo ur main mont hs o n the U zbek f or the eigh t Turkic tribe s The rare six-pointed star time there was not the islands c alen dar and twelve ad - of the world with a cre scent mo on is same level of animosity ministrative divisions not found n owadays be - betw e en these t wo
cause of its association faiths.
Proceedings 25t h Internationa l Ro tte rdam , T he N etherlands 4 -10 A ugust 2013 p aper 9 / 9 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV
F lags of sp e c ial no te
The flag of Singapore features a crescent moon with five stars, yet it is not intended to be an Islamic or religious symbol. It is symbolic of a young nation. However, there are some Muslims in Singapore that like to interpret the crescent moon in this con -
te xt.
The flag o f Bukhara (mod ern d ay Uzbekistan) fro m 192 1 featur es a hamme r and si ckle w ithin the s tar. At this point in history, Uzbekistan was integrated in the USSR, so likely this is a combination of Soviet and Islamic symbolism.
J ud aism
T he iconi c Star o f Dav id is to da y th e most com mon sy mb ol of Judaism. The origins of
th is sym bol and how it be cam e intertwin ed with Judais m ar e not en tir ely clear, and th e re are m ulti p le t heories r eg ar ding it. It is imp ort a nt t o n ote tha t i t is re all y sup -
posed to be t w o ov e rl ap pi ng t rian gl es, which i s a co mmo n “ good luck” sy mbo l in the
M idd le Eas t. T hat is w h y it is typic al f o r the Star of D avid t o lo ok l i ke the im age bel ow.
Lik e the cres cen t m oon an d star i n Is lam, t h e Sta r of Davi d h a s also been controversial
as to its relevancy to Judaism, or its appropriateness to be used at all. The Zionist
movement began using it, and since then it has been commonly used in symbolism
w ith in Isr ae l, an d also as a symbol f or the Jewish p eo ple throug ho ut the wo rld.
In resp ect to fla gs, Israe l is the o nly n ation to fe ature o ne on t he ir fl ag. On the Isra eli flag, it is blue, which has historically been used as one of the colors of Judaism. The blue stripes against the white field with the Star of David in the center are supposed
t o be r eflect ive of the des ign of a tallit , t he Jewish tr aditional p rayer shawl. The flag
below is the national, civil, and mi litary fla g.
T h e Sta r is a lso featu red on ot her Isra eli flag s. O n th is air force fla g, it is de pictrf in sil -
h ouette.
Th e Star is occas io nally, alb eit very ra rely , use d in oth er fla gs. Here , i t is th e fea tu red in
the fl ag of the flag o f Société Nava le N ord -Africa ine, a sh ip ping com pany. Th e St ar is
used as an allusion to the Jewish heritage of the company founders.
Unus ua l st ar us age
20 05 Med iterrane an Bismarck , North Dakota, B loco de Esquerda , Por - Pan au , fict itious is land in Partido Aprista Peru -
Games —here are five USA—In this flag, a star is tuguese political party— the video game Just ano , Peruvian political colors used all in one star, used to represent the “a” A star is a person in this Cause—The star’s center party—Letters are similar to the technique in “Bismarck”. flag. is cut out, leaving only formed inside the star
the Dutch Guiana flag the oute r points.
uses.
Proceedings 25th International Rotterdam, The Netherlands 4 -10 August 2013 paper 9/ 10 of the Congress of Vexillology © ’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV
Plano , Texas, USA—The Sliema , Malta—The star Social Democratic Socialist Revolutionary One of the flags of Te letter forms the star and is counterchanged Union, Macedonia —The Party, Portugal —The Kooti —The stars are the star is part of the let - star has a stylized ap - star has an artistic ap - multiple colors ter pearance pearance
Shooting star on the flag of Trogir , Croatia
Co ncl usion
W e have covered the vast symbolism of stars as they represented in flags through their color, number, points, arrangement, and religious symbolism. Hopefully we will
n ot take s tars for g ranted as we now look to them as the important vexillological symbols that they are.
Proceedings 25th International Rotterdam, The Netherlands 4 -10 August 2013 paper 9/ 11 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV Bibliography
Books
Purcell, John M. American City Flags (Trenton, NJ: NAVA, 2003).
Platoff, Anne M. Russian Regional Flags (Trenton, NJ: NAVA, 2003).
Websites
Specific pages
– “China's Flag”, ChinaOrbit, http://www.chinaorbit.com/china-culture/china-flag.html.
– “The Crescent Moon: Is it a Symbol of Islam?”, About Islam, http://islam.about.com/od/his -
tory/a/crescent_moon.htm
– “Cuban Flag, The”, HistoryofCuba,
http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/cubaflag.htm.
– “Curaçao Information”, Curaçao Photos, http://www.curacao-photos.com/information.php
– “Everything you need to know about Chile's national flag”, ThisIsChile, http://www.thisis -
chile.cl/Article.aspx?id=7032&sec=193&eje=&t=everything-you-need-to-know-about-chiles-
national-flag&idioma=2.
– “General information about National Flag of Uzbekistan”, Advantour,
http://www.advantour.com/uzbekistan/flag.htm.
– “Government”, Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands,
http://www.rmiembassyus.org/government.htm.
– “Facts About Nunavut”, Government of Nunavut, http://www.gov.nu.ca/en/flag.aspx.
– “Flag of Equatorial Guinea”, Encylcopedia Britannica,
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1355219/Equatorial-Guinea-flag-of.
– “Flags of New Zealand”, New Zealand History, http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/flags-of-
new-zealand.
– “History of the Flag”, Australian National Flag Association of Queensland Inc.,
http://www.australianflag.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemi
d=79.
– “History of the Minnesota State Flag and Seal”, The North Star Flag,
http://mnflag.tripod.com/history.html.
– “How Aruba's Flag Was Chosen”, VisitAruba, http://www.visitaruba.com/about-aruba/gen -
eral-aruba-facts/sarah-bollinger.
– “Hungary to ban swastika and red star with new constitutional amendment”, Politics.hu,
http://www.politics.hu/20130320/hungary-to-ban-swastika-and-red-star-with-new-consti -
tutional-amendment.
– “National flag: Symbol of Azerbaijani statehood”, .Azernews, http://www.azernews.az/cul -
ture/49569.html.
– “National Flag of the Commonwealth of Dominica”, Office of the President of the Common -
wealth of Dominica, http://presidentoffice.gov.dm/national_symbols/national_flag/na -
tional_flag.html.
– “National Symbols”, Government of Timor-Leste, http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=34&lang=en.
– “National Symbols”, Victorian School, http://vs.moe.edu.sg/national_symbol.htm.
– “Official Honduras Symbols – Flag, Tree, Flower, Shield”, Honduras.com, http://www.hon -
duras.com/official-honduras-symbols-flag-tree-flower-shield.
– “Our History”, InfoBonaire, http://www.infobonaire.com/history.html.
– “Signs and Symbols”, Judaism 101, http://www.jewfaq.org/signs.htm.
Multiple pages
– Flags of the World, http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/index.html, various pages.
– World Flag Database, http://flags.net, various pages.
Proceedings 25th International Rotterdam, The Netherlands 4 -10 August 2013 paper 9/ 12 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV
Other – Vlajky Vybraných Administrativních Jednotek , Orgin Czech Encylcopedic Literature Publishing, libri.cz
Ackno wledgements Petr Exner Jr., Scot Guenter, Ted Kaye, Elizabeth Langston, Rick Langston, Edw ard Mooney, David Ott, David Pawson, Annie Platoff, Gus Tracchia, Bill Trinkle
Author biography
Amy Langston is a student of the world with diverse interests in travel, linguistics, religions, cul -
tures, and – of course – flags. She lives in the United States (North Carolina) with her parents. After
completing her final year of secondary school, Amy expects to enter university, where she will
study Religious and Ethical Studies. She hopes to create a tradition of contributions to vexillology
through the coming decades of her life.
Proceedings 25th International Rotterdam, The Netherlands 4 -10 August 2013 paper 9/ 13 of the Congress of Vexillology ©’s Amy Langston, 25th ICV Rotterdam, The Netherlands and FIAV