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Between north and south America, is of course central America; full to the brim with small
nations which of course have some interesting national flags!
In this video we are going to look at the flags of: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama The flag of Belize was adopted on September
21, 1981, the country's first Independence Day.
It consists of the Coat of Arms on a blue field with red stripes at the top and bottom
The flag is royal blue, with a white disc at the centre containing the national coat
of arms held by a two men.
The coat of arms is based on the old British coat of arms for the region.
The national motto, Sub Umbra Floreo, meaning "Under the Shade I Flourish", is written in
the lower part of the coat of arms.
In 1981, Belize gained its independence and a competition was held to design a national
flag for the country.
The winning submission consisted of the unofficial national flag used by the People's United
Party with a red border added to all four sides.
This was changed to a red border on just the top and bottom before the design was officially
adopted.
The colours on the flag are respectively those of the country's national parties, the People's
United Party (PUP) and United Democratic Party (Belize) (UDP).
The UDP, established in 1973, had objected to the original blue and white design, those
two colours being the PUP's representative colours.
The 50 leaves recall 1950, the year PUP came to power.
The national flag of the Republic of Costa Rica is based on a design created in 1848.
The flag was officially adopted in1906, including a slight modification to the placement and
design of the entrenched coat of arms.
The flag was updated to reflect modifications to the national coat of arms in 1964 and 1998.
The blue, white and red horizontal design was created in 1848 by Pacífica Fernández,
(wife of then president José María Castro Madriz).
Fernández was inspired by France's Revolution, and the creation of the French Second Republic.
The new design to the Costa Rican flag adopted the colours of the French tricolor.
The blue color stands for the sky, opportunities, idealism and perseverance.
The white color stands for peace, wisdom and happiness.
The red color stands for the blood spilt by martyrs in defense of the country, as well
as the warmth and generosity of the people.
The coat of arms depicts the isthmus between the Pacific ocean and the Caribbean Sea, with
3 volcanoes.
The 7 stars stand for the 7 provinces of Costa Rica.
The Spanish name of the country is scrolled on a white banner, (Republica de Costa Rica
(Republic of Costa Rica), and the upper scroll recalls the former United Provinces of Central
America.
The flag of El Salvador was inspired by the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America
and Greater Republic of Central America.
The colours signify: Royal Cobalt Blue: represents the great sky
and two massive oceans of Central America White: represents peace and solidarity with
the world Golden Amber : represents the boldness of
the nation The coat of arms contains the words "REPUBLICA
DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL" Republic of El Salvador in Central America.
Its centre consists of a bold golden amber triangle outline, in which a row starting
from the left side, of five mighty and proud green forested coned volcanoes, depicting
a tropical landscape, rise out of the massive cobalt blue pacific ocean swells, symbolizing
the fellowship of the five original isthmian member states of the United Provinces of Central
America.
there is a crimson red cap (Phrygian cap) on a staff before an amber sun with swirling
rays.
The date of Independence Day of El Salvador, in black letters over the sun, there is a
rainbow arch in the sky which Biblically symbolizes peace.
Behind the coat of arms there are five cobalt blue and white striped flags representing
the flags of the Federal Republic of Central America.
All of the five flags are each held up and raised with Native American Indigenous wooden
war spears, and tied with American Indigenous feathers, symbolizing El Salvador's American
Indigenous ancestry and heritage.
The flag of Guatemala, ("Pabellón Nacional") (literally, "National Flag") or "Azuliblanco")
features two colors: sky blue and white.
The two sky blue stripes represent the fact that Guatemala is a land located between two
oceans, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean and the sky over the country.
The white signifies peace and purity.
The blue and white colors, like those of several other countries in the region, are based on
the flag of the former Federal Republic of Central America.
In the centre of the flag is the Guatemalan coat of arms.
It includes the (resplendent quetzal), the national bird of Guatemala that symbolizes
liberty; a parchment scroll bearing the date of Central America's independence from Spain,
15 September 1821; crossed rifles, indicating Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by
force if need be; a bay laurel crown, the symbol for victory; and crossed swords, representing
honor.
The national flag of Honduras was adopted on March 7, 1866, based on the flag of the
Federal Republic of Central America.
In 1823 Honduras joined the United Provinces of Central America and adopted their flag.
In 1866 it was amended; five stars were placed in the centre to represent the five original
Central American provinces.
The colours and pattern are the same as the flag of the United Provinces of Central America.
The two outer cerulean bands represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, and also
represent the blue sky and brotherhood.
The inner white band represents the land between the ocean and the sea, the peace and prosperity
of its people, and purity.
The flag of Nicaragua was first adopted on September 4, 1908, but not made official until
August 27, 1971.
It is based and inspired on the flag of the Federal Republic of Central America.
The flag and the arms of Nicaragua in use today is very similar to that used by the
United Provinces of Central America.
The triangle, volcanoes, rising sun, Cap of Liberty, and rainbow all appeared on the original
emblem.
The coat of arms used today contains the name of the state, Republica de Nicaragua, whereas
in 1823 the title was Provincias Unidas del Centro de America.
The flag of Panama was officially adopted in 1925.
It is Divided into four rectangles: a white field on the hoist-side bearing the blue five-pointed
star in the center a red field at the top left, a blue field on the hoist-side and the
white field on the fly-side bearing the red five-pointed star in the centre.
This flag was to reflect the political situation of the time.
The blue was intended to represent the Conservative Party and the red to represent the Liberal
Party.
The white was intended to stand for peace and purity; the blue star stands for the purity
and honesty of the life of the country; the red star represents the authority and law
in the country; and together the stars stand for the new republic.