Des drapeaux qui nous racontent l`histoire du Canada

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Flags Tell the Story of Canada
Des drapeaux qui nous racontent l’histoire du Canada
The symbol of Canada is a red maple leaf. It is the
last of a long line of colours that have been planted
on our soil.
Le symbole du Canada est l’unifolié. Il est le dernier
d’une longue série de drapeaux à avoir été planté
sur notre sol.
Our Aboriginals did not fly flags but the explorer, Martin Frobisher, in 1577, reported that the Eskimos
signaled to him with flag-like objects made from animal bladders.
Il n’existe aucune preuve de l’existence de drapeaux
amérindiens en tant que tels. Dès 1577, lors de sa
visite en cette terre qu’on appelle aujourd’hui TerreNeuve, l’explorateur anglais Martin Frobisher
signalait que les Esquimaux communiquaient entre
eux avec des objets semblables à des drapeaux faits
de vessies d’animaux.
In the 10th century, the Norseman, Leif Ericsson,
spent several years exploring Newfoundland and
Baffin Island. If the Danes carried flags,
they would have had the Raven, a
triangular fringed flag bordered in
black.
Foreshadowing
In 1497, John Cabot, explored for
the mosaic of
England. Newfoundlanders, in
Canada
their 500th celebrations of his
landing, displayed the Cross of
St. George. Cabot could have
carried the Kingdom of England
flag. It has four quadrants with lions and fleurs-de-lis.
Une préfiguration
de la mosaïque
canadienne à
venir
Jacques Cartier, carrying the Royal
Arms of France, took possession of
Gaspe Harbour in 1534. He was followed, a century later, by Samuel de
Champlain. There were many different
flags which could have been displayed but
the French Merchant flag flew over the
Plains of Abraham when the French colony was conquered by the British General Wolf. Following the
Treaty of Paris the British Union Flag became the flag
of Canada.
On the west coast, the Russian explorers, as early as
1741, planted their tricoloured naval ensign for Tsar
Peter I. Captain Cook claimed the land for Britain in
1778 but did not start a permanent settlement. The
Spaniard, Estevan José Martinez, in 1789, under the
Royal Arms of Spain, established a settlement in
Nootka. Spain ceded to Great Britain in 1995. The
Union Flag of Britain was now flying on both coasts
of Canada.
In 1867, the U.S. laid claim to parts of the new colony
of British Columbia. The territory came under joint
British and United States administration. Many different U.S. flags would have flown in this territory beContinued on page 6 ...
Au 10e siècle, Leif Ericsson passa
quelques années à explorer TerreNeuve et l’île de Baffin. Si
d’aucuns parmi les Danois avaient
porté avec eux un drapeau, ce
n’aurait pu être que celui du
corbeau, sorte de drapeau
triangulaire à franges bordé de
noir sur la lisière extérieure.
En 1497, Jean Cabot arriva à
Terre-Neuve. Cabot prit possession du territoire au nom d’Henri VII.
À l’occasion des célébrations
entourant le 500e anniversaire de
son débarquement, les TerreNeuviens ont fait flotter la Croix de
Saint-Georges. Il est possible que
Cabot portait avec lui la bannière du
royaume d’Angleterre, comprenant
quatre quadrants aux lions et fleurs de lis.
Jacques Cartier débarqua dans le port de Gaspé en
1534. Il transportait avec lui les armoiries royales
de France. Il fut suivi un siècle plus tard par Samuel
de Champlain. Il existe différents drapeaux à avoir
pu être déployés, mais c’est bien le drapeau des
commerçants français qui flottait sur les Plaines
d’Abraham quand la colonie française fut conquise
par le général britannique Wolf. Après le traité de
Paris, le drapeau de l’Union - sans la croix de SaintPatrice - devint le drapeau du Canada.
Cependant, sur la côte Ouest, des explorateurs
russes plantèrent leur enseigne navale tricolore au
nom du Tsar Pierre Ier dès 1741. En 1778, le
capitaine Cook prit possession du territoire au nom
de l’Angleterre, mais sans y établir de colonie
permanente. En 1789, sous les armoiries royales
Suite à la page 5 ...
- page 3
- page 4
New Flags
St. Lucia
Afghanistan
Cayman Islands
St. Lucia’s
flag design was
in existence before it gained independence from
Britain. The design depicts the
three volcanic mountains surrounded by blue sea. Recently the
colours were defined. The blue
field is now much lighter than previous versions. Official colours are
described as light yellow chrome
and process cyan blue.
M o r e
changes
have been
made to
the
Afghanistan
flag. The arms, which were previously within the center red stripe,
now extend over the black and
green stripes. Arabic script has
been added: Afghanistan in the
scroll at the bottom, and There is
no God but Allah and Muhammad
is the Prophet of Allah and God is
Almightly at the top.
An alternative
flag for
Cayman
Islands:
The shield is not encircled in a
white disc but is accented with a
narrow white outline. The emblem
is also much larger.
Correction: The Sudanese
People’s Liberation Movement
flag, as displayed in the Fall/
Winter edition of The Flag &
Banner is incorrect. The star
should be yellow, not red.
Suite de la page 3 ... (“Des drapeaux qui nous racontent l’histoire du Canada”)
d’Espagne, l’Espagnol Estevan américaine. Dans la mesure où, pen- merce avec les Autochtones dès
José Martinez établit une colonie à dant toute la période qu’a duré cette 1670. En 1829, une permission
Nootka. En 1795, l’Espagne céda dispute qui ne s’est conclue qu’en spéciale fut accordée à la
le territoire à la Grande-Bretagne 1903, les É.-U. sont passés de 37 à compagnie de se servir de
lors du traité de Nootka. Le drapeau 45 états, plusieurs variantes du l’enseigne rouge britannique avec
royal de l’Union flotta alors sur les drapeau américain ont dû ainsi flotter les lettres HBC brodées sur son
deux côtes canadiennes.
battant.
tour à tour sur le territoire.
En 1867, les É.-U. affirmèrent leur
prétention sur une partie de la nouvelle
colonie de Colombie-Britannique. Le
territoire se retrouva pour un temps
sous administration conjointe britanno-
Parmi les autres drapeaux à avoir
flotté sur le territoire canadien, on
retrouve ceux représentant la
compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson,
entreprise qui faisait déjà du com-
En 1837, un groupe de citoyens
répondant au nom de Patriotes se
rebella contre le pouvoir
britannique. Ils proclamèrent la
Suite à la page 6 ...
- page 5
Flags Tell the Story of Canada
Des drapeaux qui nous racontent l’histoire du Canada
Continued from page 3 ...
cause, until the dispute was settled in 1903, the U.S.
grew from 37 to 45 states.
Other flags that occupied Canadian territory represented the Hudson’s Bay Company which traded with
Aboriginals as early as 1670. In 1829, special permission was granted the Company to use the British
Red Ensign with the letter, HBC embroidered on the
fly.
In 1837, a group called the Patriote rebelled against
Britain. They proclaimed the Republic of Lower Canada
with a tri-coloured green, white and red flag. The same
year, in Upper Canada, William Lyon MacKenzie tried
to establish the Republic of Canada with his Liberty
flag flying over Navy Island in the Niagara River.
During the rebellious years of the 1870s in the territory now known as Manitoba, many different flags were
created to lead the protests of the Metis people. One
document describe the Riel Rebellion flag as “white
with a yellow fleur de lys, a shamrock and a bison”.
Back again to the west coat, as late as 1867, the Russian Ensign commonly flew over outposts in the territory administered by the Russian American Company.
The border between Alaska and the Yukon had long
been in dispute, resulting in arguments between the
Hudson’s Bay Company and the Russian-American
Company over trading rights. The dispute ended when
the United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1903.
In the Maritimes, the Acadians had a flag – the flag of
France with a yellow star in the canton which they first
displayed their flag in 1884 but it took 100 years for
the New Brunswick government to officially recognize
it.
Until the maple leaf was adopted in 1965, the official
flag of the Dominion of Canada was the Union Jack.
In 1892 the British Admiralty authorized the use of a
Red Ensign with the badge of Canada in the fly. In
1924 the Canadian Red Ensign was approved as an
alternative flag to the Union Jack. It became the de
facto flag for Canadians until 1965 when we symbolized ourselves with our now famous red maple leaf.
Canadians pride themselves on being a mosaic of
many nationalities instead of a melting pot. Did the
many flags that flew over our land in the previous thousand years foreshadow the demographic fabric of
Canada?
- page 6
Suite de la page 5 ...
République du Bas-Canada avec un drapeau tricolore
vert, blanc et rouge. La même année, dans le HautCanada, William Lyon MacKenzie essaya d’établir la
République du Canada avec son drapeau de la Liberté
flottant au-dessus de Navy Island sur la rivière Niagara.
Durant les années de rébellion de la décennie 1870
qui se déroulèrent sur le territoire correspondant
aujourd’hui à ce qu’on appelle le Manitoba, plusieurs
drapeaux furent créés pour affirmer la révolte du
peuple Métis. Un témoignage de l’époque décrit le
drapeau rebelle des partisans de Riel comme « blanc
avec fleur de lys jaune, trèfle et bison ».
Toujours sur la côte Ouest, et ce, jusqu’en 1867,
l’enseigne russe flotta de façon régulière sur les avantpostes faisant partie du territoire administré par la
compagnie russe d’Amérique. La frontière entre
l’Alaska et le Yukon fut longtemps l’objet de disputes
portant sur les droits de commerce entre la compagnie
de la Baie d’Hudson et la compagnie russe d’Amérique.
Le tout prit fin lorsque les États-Unis achetèrent en
1903 l’Alaska à la Russie.
Dans les Maritimes, les Acadiens adoptèrent un
drapeau, soit le drapeau français tricolore, avec une
étoile jaune au coin supérieur gauche. Ils firent flotter
leur drapeau dès 1884, mais durent attendre 100 ans
avant que le gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick
ne le reconnaisse enfin officiellement.
Le drapeau officiel du Dominion du Canada fut l’Union
Jack. En 1892, l’amirauté britannique autorisa l’usage
de l’enseigne rouge portant l’écu du Canada. Il devint
bientôt de facto, pour nombre de Canadiens, le
drapeau national, et ce, jusqu’en 1965, année où l’on
choisit le dorénavant fameux unifolié pour représenter
le pays.
Les Canadiens se vantent de former une mosaïque
de plusieurs nationalités au lieu d’un melting pot à
l’américaine. Comment ne pas penser que tous ces
drapeaux qui flottèrent tour à tour au cours des siècles
sur ce grand territoire n’annonçaient pas déjà ce
qu’allait devenir le Canada ?
Shop On-line / Achats en ligne:
www.flagshop.com
Flagging the Nation
VANCOUVER
Grade 3 students visit The Flag
Shop.
A grade three class of 21 students
with teacher, Cheryl Berns, from
Waverley School in Vancouver visited The Flag Shop to learn about
flags and find out, hands on, how
flags are made. The retail staff presented the youngsters with peace
flags to colour and Print Shop manager, Ron Reyes, allowed each child
to print a small flag. After the curing and sewing, the flags will be sent
to the school so each child has a
memento of his or her visit. The Flag
Shop offers tours for people of all
ages. Retail Manager, Lauren
Cotterall, will schedule your visit.
[Please note that the printing plant
is not wheelchair accessible].
Grade 3 students visit The Flag
Shop.
TORONTO
All businesses have something to
sell – we’re no different. Our business is selling, printing, sewing, designing flags and all related items.
We’re proud of our workmanship
and our commitment to customer
service, but mostly we’re proud of
our customers as they make coming to work each morning a pleasure.
Recently, we had a couple of very
special customers: A mother with
her two children, a little girl of three
and her big brother who was almost
five. The mom asked her son which
flags he’d like for his birthday party.
To our surprise, Ty spieled off about
a dozen countries. It was exciting
to hear such a young boy know the
name of so many countries, but
then the real fun began. As we
began collecting the countries he
asked for, we asked him if he could
recognize the countries. He recognized them all and also knew their
capital cities! Ty has a job in this
Shop. He starts at the end of June,
2015! Not to be outdone, his little
sister knew a great number of the
flags, too. Her job starts two years
later.
Come join us here at The Flag Shop
where we enjoy serving you and
coming up with creative ideas for
your fundraiser, parties, socials,
dances, boats, golf courses, homes
and, of course, your flagpole. We
look forward to meeting you soon.
VICTORIA
The Times Colonist, Victoria’s daily
newspaper, in a full-page article,
paid tribute to Flag Shop owner,
Jamie Webb, for his years of service to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. The paper
commended Webb for diversifying
the product line in his Shop to include ceremonial regalia, regimental colours, and blazer badges, not
only for private institutions but also
for the police, Masons, Shriners and
other associations. He has to source
some of these materials and manufacturers around the globe, e.g. his
high quality wire blazer badges are
made in the ancient town of Sialkot,
Pakistan. The newspaper labeled
him “Worldwide Webb.”
OTTAWA
The
Flag
Shop Ottawa
really lucked
out when the
Grey Cup
bus pick- up
was right in
front of the
Shop. Owner, Alan McLaughlin,
said he sold lots of B.C. Lions flags
but decidedly more Toronto
Argonaut flags. “The loudest and
most enthusiastic fans were from
Saskatchewan”, said McLaughlin.
The Flag Shops keep a good selection of sports flags. Some teams
are not easy to find, so if you want
to wave a flag at your next sporting
event, give your Flag Shop as much
notice as possible.
- page 7
GUEST EDITORIAL
Hank Gigandet
Pointe Claire, QC
Our Maple Leaf Flag has just
celebrated its 40th.
Anniversary
On Feb. 15th. 2005, Prime Minister
Martin and Canadian Heritage Minister Frulla attended a ceremony in
Kingston, Ontario where they deservedly paid homage to Judge
John Matheson who spearheaded
the Flag Committee while serving
as an M.P. in the Pearson government. His relentless drive and passion, along with that of the other
members of the committee, has resulted in our proud national symbol,
the Maple Leaf Flag.
The three designs among the thousands submitted that the committee chose to vote on were: the three
red maple leaves, representing the
English, the French, the Native people with all other cultures, between
blue borders (the Pearson Pennant); the Red Ensign with a fleurde-lis and Union Jack; and a red flag
with a white square featuring a single maple leaf which was
Matheson’s choice derived from the
Kingston Military College flag. The
Coat of Arms was replaced with the
single maple leaf as suggested by
Dr. George Stanley.
Canadians eager for a new flag had
mostly preferred the single red maple leaf representing a unified
Canada, with blue borders signify- page 8
ing Pearson’s theme
‘from sea to shining
sea’. When Opposition
Leader Diefenbaker,
who bitterly opposed a
new flag, saw the public backing the red, Pearson Pennant 1964 Most Popular 1964
white and blue design,
he told his members of
the flag committee that
they would never accept blue on the flag
and told them to vote
for the red and white
flag. He gambled that
Pearson would never
Duality Flag
Our Flag
give up his theme of
‘sea to sea’ and that the whole flag In the last 40 years, a reservation
debate might end in a draw and die. of our red and white flag is that it is
When Pearson found out the Tory too unilingually English and that it
plan, he told his members to vote does not adequately symbolize the
for the red and white design, ‘better French fact in Canada. Just as our
red and white than no flag at all’. country has evolved, perhaps it is
To the astonishment of the Tories, time to include blue to our national
the vote carried through overwhelm- colours in recognition of our official
ingly for the red and white maple bilingualism and linguistic duality.
leaf design. (Former Liberal minisAdding blue to our flag would have
ter Paul Hellyer’s rendition of behind
very positive effects for Canadian
the scenes manoeuvring).
unity. After 40 years, isn’t it time to
Over the last 40 years, our flag has share and renew (not change) our
gained international recognition and flag to a bilingual one, all without
respect. It is our source of pride losing our own identity? Identity inand identity as a nation, but not with- stills pride and pride builds nations.
out reservations. Our country has It works both ways. With the red
evolved and grown in the last 40 and the blue, and the Maple Leaf
years taking its place in the G7 and symbolizing our great land, its vast
other world organizations, but inter- territories and First Nations, Canada
nal conflicts also arose from lack of would have no where to go but up.
recognition and mutual respect.
Hank Gigandet is a manager in the electroAfter the adoption of the red and mechanical engineering field. He became
white maple leaf, we have em- a unity activist in 1992 after the failures of
braced official bilingualism, repatri- the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords
ated the Constitution and instated and the ensuing tension between French
and English Canada. In 1994, when the
our Charter of Rights and government failed to respond, he started
Freedoms. However, our official promoting the Canadian Duality Flag which
languages have never been recog- recognizes our two official languages,
nized by any official Canadian sym- amongst our multicultural society. The flag
bol, yet they are the cornerstones symbolizes French and English-speaking
together, and notably the First Nations.
of our society, our window to the Ref: www.trcf.ca
world.
- page 9
Flags in the News
Men from Nelson’s Fleet
Reburied
Union Jacks draped the coffins of
30 members of Admiral Horatio
Nelson’s ships that routed Napoleon
Bonaparte from Egypt more than
two centuries ago. British sailors,
in a full military ceremony, carried
five coffins containing the remains
to a burial site in Alexandria, Egypt.
The burial site, on a small island off
the coast of Alexandria, was discovered by an archeologist three years
ago. He assisted the British to excavate the remains. The site was
being threatened by erosion and
picnickers who frequented the island.
Banner Days for Lebanese
Flag
Makers
Lebanese
flags have
become
the powerful symbol
of revolt
against
S y r i a n
domination
of Lebanon. Protesters on the
streets are waving flags by the tens
of thousands. Flags are hanging
from office windows, car antennas
and at front doors. They adorn all
manner of clothing from baseball
caps to string bikinis. The fervor
erupted when former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, was assassinated.
The bombing that killed him was
- page 10
suspected of being engineered
by Syria.
Flag factories in Beirut are working
full shifts, seven days a week, turning out hundreds of thousands of
flags a week. “We don’t mind,” said
one worker, because it is our country’s flag. It is the most beautiful flag
in the world”.
Felluccas Flying Silk “Flags”
When is a scarf a flag? When
Hermès fashion house launched its
new perfume, Un Jardin sur le Nil,
on barges floating down the Nile
River for a weekend venture. The
barges were resplendent in Hermès
silk scarves as flags. The perfume
sells for $145 an ounce and is intended for both men and women.
Asked how he created such a perfume, Hermès insists he makes no
concessions to gender. “Perfumery
is like art. We don’t make paintings
just for men…for women. Art talks
to men and women at the same
time.” How about the silk scarf
flags?
Flag Flap in Newfoundland
and Labrador
If you want to stir up emotions, wave
- or in this case -- lower the flag!
Newfoundland's premier, Danny
Williams certainly hit the hot button
when he banned the flying of the
Canada flag on government buildings in Newfoundland to protest in
the dispute over oil drilling rights.
What took its place on the pole? The
Newfie flag which derived from the
flood of immigrants from Ireland in
the 18th Century. The Canada flag
has been hoisted again but the nationalistic spirit has been deeply
whetted with the abundance of pink
and green being displayed on tee
shirts, bumper stickers and flags.
Read about Norway Constitution Day - Page 14
- page 11
Years Ago
60 Years Ago
Flags from Many Nations Fly
at Buchenwald
In April 1945, U. S. troops liberated
21,000 prisoners from Buchenwald
concentration camp, near Weimar,
Germany. About 1000 people including camp survivors gathered to
hear
Chancellor
Gerhard
Schroeder honour the victims and
express shame in Germany’s
name for the suffering and deaths
of the prisoners who passed
through the camp. Flags from 30
nations hung in a cold drizzle to
symbolize the nations from which
the camp’s 240,000 prisoners
came between 1937 and 1945.
V E Day
Montrealers wave Union Jacks!
V E Day, 60 years ago, brought
people into the streets to celebrate.
Everything closed down and the
party was on. It lasted all night.
- page 12
Union Jacks, Canada’s official flag
of the day, were draped everywhere, even in Quebec. Sixty
years later, on Sunday, May 8th,
events – much more sedate -were held in Canada and around
the world to mark the end of World
War II. Parades and ceremonies
took place in every provincial and
territorial capital to honour the veterans of the war and mark V E
Day.
For Canadians, there were special
tears and tributes in the Netherlands. Dignitaries, veterans and
their families took part in a parade
in Apeldoorn to commemorate the
liberation of their country. The flag
that Canadians displayed to mark
the occasion was our maple leaf
eral different sizes. Ensigns with
green leaves are only in 4” x 6”
table flags.
25 Years Ago
$1 from every Canadian
The Terry Fox Flag
It was 25 years ago that Terry Fox
dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean in Newfoundland.
He started his run across Canada
and asked for $1 from every Canadian to fight cancer. There
were 20 million people in Canada
at that time.
“I fought under that flag, and I’ll
die under that flag…”
but not without appeals
from veteran associations
to wave the Canadian Red
Ensign, the flag they fought
under and many died under.
Veterans Affairs Canada
has confirmed that the red
ensign will eventually be
displayed at the Visitor’s
Centre at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in
France. “It is understandable that Veterans who
fought under the Canadian
Red Ensign have a deep
and lasting attachment to
that flag,” announced Jack
Staff, Deputy Minister of
Veterans Affairs Canada.
The Flag Shop has Red Ensigns with red leaves in sev-
The 1983 letter from Betty and Rolly
Fox, Terry’s parents.
5 Years Ago
The Flag Shop’s largest sewn
flag
Five years ago, Canada Post requested that we sew Canada’s largest flag. To the best of our knowledge, the largest flag ever made was
the 120’ x 60’ flag, sewn by The Flag
Shop, for the 1978 Commonwealth
Games in Edmonton. “Make one a
foot larger”, was the order to fill. That
year, and every year since, the 122’
x 61’ flag has been draped from the
roof of the main Post Office on Georgia Street in Vancouver. “Yes, we will
be flying your beautiful big flag again
this year for the July 1st weekend”,
said Bob Taylor, Manager of Corporate Communications, Canada Post.
Every Year
Norway - the world's greatest
flagwavers
by Beverly Braaten
M o s t
countries
set aside
one or
two days
a year to
celebrate
their nationhood.
It is a time
to
remember
independence from colonial reign or the
birth of a nation. Flags always play a
prominent role. Before our flag was
born, 40 years ago, the greatest flagwaving day in Canada was May 24th,
the Queen’s birthday. Children would
dance around the maypole with Union
Jacks. July 1st is gradually becoming
more ceremonial aided by Heritage
Canada’s grants to municipalities for
their festivities.
Do you know the greatest flag waving
nation on earth? No, it is not the United
States, although they certainly show
their pride on July 4th. It is Norway. Our
special correspondent, Beverly Braaten,
of Norwegian descent, shares her story
of Constitution Day in Norway. She was
there 15 years ago but it was such a
momentous wild day, she remembers
it as if it was yesterday. “Norwegians
are very proud of their flag. They are
everywhere, all the time -- on government buildings, docks, boats and people’s backyards but especially on May
17th. The day starts at 7:00 a.m. with a
local scout troupe parading around the
community planting flags. Church starts
at 9:00, but before you go to church
you have go to up to the local school at
8:00 a.m. for the raising of the flag.
Flags can’t go up before 8:00. The small
flag, called a wimpel, may be flown at
any time, but not the national flag. We
sang the national anthem as the flag
was being raised. We then rushed back
home to get ready for church. There
were many flags in the church and we
sang the national anthem again. After
church there is a parade back to the
school. All the children are in their national costumes – bunads and bunards.
The high school graduates, who have
the whole month of May off, are dressed
in red or blue coveralls and carrying
flags. At the school, there is food and
games. Right at noon, we sang the
national anthem again facing the flag.
After lunch we drove into Oslo. Everyone had small flags on their front lawns
and also on their cars, like dignitaries.
At the parliament buildings, the graduates, from all over Norway, parade down
the parkway, and again, flags everywhere. Then we returned home to get
dressed for a very formal dinner after
which there was the lowering of the flag
ceremony. I have been in Paris for
Bastille Day and Ottawa for Canada
Day and Quebec for St. Jean Baptiste
Day but nothing tops Norway for its Constitution Day.”
And, according to Beverly, the flags are
not given to them by the government.
She said they are justly proud to buy
them themselves and replace them
when they are worn.
Flag Chatter
Editor:
Two things: An RCMP officer was in
Darwin last month, exchanging police
info and attended a graduation police
ceremony. We loaned our police the
RCMP flag for the day. For VE Day,
there will be 18 flags on display at the
Australia War Memorial. In attendance will be all ambassadors from
countries represented here in Australia. I did query that flags of that era
may have to be flown but they propose to use flags of “today”.
Ron Strachan
Darwin City, NT, Australia.
Editor:
We received your [Canada] flags on
time to show on 5th of May at the anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. You Canadian liberated our
country. Thank you so much!
Eric Gebuys,
Haastretcht, Netherlands
Editor:
Congratulations on the handsome
new format for Flag & Banner!
Dr. Whitney Smith,
Flag Research Center
Winchester, Massachusetts
Editor:
I have to congratulate you for the
change in the publication. The magazine is more beautiful; paper is of quality.
Professor Michel Lupant
Ottignies, Belgium
Editor:
Your last Flag & Banner was outstanding! Keep up your good works.
David Mead
Twin Falls, Idaho
[Editor: We received many more letters praising the new format. Thank
you all for giving us feedback.]
- page 13
Flag Protocol
Questions for
faq@flagshop.com
raised fully, respect is being shown. If the pole is long enough to move the
Do not allow the flag to touch the flag down from the finial a few inches,
roof.
that will suffice.
· I have three flagpoles. Do I lower · My flagpole is too short. How can I
all three flags?
show respect with my flag?
Yes, all flags in a cluster display are Attach a long black ribbon to the pole
to be lowered the same distance.
just below the finial.
The tsunami tragedy was respected by half-masting of flags
at government and corporate offices and by private citizens. The
Flag Shop was flooded with inquiries as to how to half-mast.
· If I lower the flag halfway, it is
dragging on the roof of my building.
· How long do I keep the flags at half- · At a public ceremony I attended, they
mast?
raised then lowered the flag. Was that
correct?
That depends on the event. Sometimes the government will announce the Yes. First you raise the flag to full mast,
days of mourning. If you are respect- then lower it to the position of respect.
ing someone who has died, it is customary to keep the flag lowered until · Do I leave the flags lowered at
night?
after the funeral.
· What is the difference between half- Flags may be flown at night but, traditionally, they should be illumimast and half-staff?
nated. Many institutions take the
Nothing! Originally, half-mast was for flags down at sunset and raise them
ships, but the courtesy soon moved to at dawn.
land. In the U.S., the term half-staff is [Editor: Answers to many of your
more commonly used.
questions are on the website:
Half-mast does not mean halfway
down the pole. Lower the flag
about one hoist width. As long as · My flagpole is on an angle? How can http://www.flagshop.com/flag_faq.html
Your inquiries are welcome.]
it is obvious that the flag is not I lower the flag?
Switzerland
Traditionally, whatever the
proportion of the
h o m e
country’s
flag, all
other internaAn exceptional flag.
tional
flags, in that country, are manufactured in the same proportion. The
Canada flag is twice as long as it is
wide, so Canadian factories make
all the other international flags 2:1.
In the U.S., international flags are
made 5:3 or 6:4. even though the
proper proportion for a U.S. flag is
19:10, which is almost 2:1.
One of our ski resorts that was flying an oblong Swiss flag had a complaint, and more than one customer
to our Shops has complained about
the oblong Swiss flag. Don’t we
know that the Swiss flag is always
square? We explain that this is
Canada and all flags are made to
match. Finally, we did our usual –
we contacted the Flag Research
Center in the Massachusetts for the
official word.
The visitors were correct. There are
two exceptions to the one-size-fitsall rule: Switzerland and Nepal. “To
the Swiss, an oblong rather than a
square Swiss flag is as wrong as
using the Red Ensign for the British
national flag”, said Dr. Whitney
Smith. [You would all recognize that
faux pas, wouldn’t you?] He does
add, “It is not illegal to use an oblong flag and certainly no foreign
citizen, even the president of Switzerland, has any right to decide what
Swiss flag may fly in Canada”. Hmm
– if the Swiss president visits our
Shop, we’ll certainly try to be square
with him!
Subscribe to our monthly e-news letter. Send your e-mail
address to enews-express@flagshop.com or register online at www.flagshop/form_feedback.html
- page 14
Appointment
Claudio Lerner
Doreen Braverman, president of
The Flag Shop, is very pleased to
announce the appointment of
Claudio Lerner as General Manager
of The Flag Shop. Claudio is an
industrial engineer by profession
and has held several senior management positions and has acted as
consulting manager with several
well known Canadian companies.
Announcement
Top of the Flagpole award
winners
Corrine and Irwin Woodrow, owners of the Flag Shop in Toronto received the annual award for the best
Flag Shop of the Year, 2004. The
award was presented at The Flag
Shop’s annual franchise meeting in
Vancouver last January. The Flag
Shop Toronto is located at 5000
Dufferin in North York. Evaluation
for winning the award involves 28
criteria including customer service,
community involvement, and company growth.
- page 15