CIRCA - 1897/ 1915 🇮🇸 - a red Nordic cross, embedded in white cross, both off-set to the hoist-side & extending to the edges of a sky blue field
HISTORY: The íslenski fáninn, (Icelandic flag) evolved from a widely used unofficial 19c design, the Hvítbláinn("the white-blue"); a
white Nordic cross ╋━ on blue🔍.
The red was added in 1915, (to distinguish from the nearly identical Greek flag🔍) when it
received royal approval as a colonial flag. Both the design & colors are nod to the flags of the
countries it was once ruled by, Denmark🔍 & Norway (whose flag🔍 is the inverse of Iceland's)
Recognized as a sovereign flag in 1918, it became the nation's official flag upon Iceland
gaining independence in 1944.
[The state variation is swallow-tailed ꔪ ]
VEXILLOLOGY:* Honoring the country's shared cultural & historical ties the region as well as representing Iceland's natural
features (themselves symbols of a hardy people forged by contrasting forces of volcanic 🔥 fire and frozen 🧊 ice);
The OFF-SET Nordic CROSS ╋━ dates back to medieval Norse banners, it was first prominent in Denmark and later used in all major Scandinavian🔍 flags like Sweden's🔍 & Finland's🔍.
(Associated with Norse Christianization in the Viking Age, it originally symbolized faith & divine protection in battle, but is no longer exclusively religious)
The RED symbolizes the geothermal activity & the many island volcanos 🌋 while...
The WHITE fimbriation represents the island's snow ❄️, ice & glaciers , &...
The BLUE Field is meant to evoke the sky & encircling 🌊 Atlantic🔍 waters