CIRCA - 1905 🇱🇹 - a horizontal tricolor of yellow (top), green (middle) & red (bottom) equal stripes

HISTORY: Emerging from the national awakening of the early 20c, and drawing inspiration from Lithuanian ethnographic colors

(of folk costume, sashes & 14c gold & red Lithuanian banners) the tricolor was 1st adopted in 1918,* shortly after the country's

declaration of independence from the Russians & German occupation.

Banned during Soviet occupation (c.1940) the flag was revived amid the reform movement in 1988

& officially restored in 1990 with the restoration of independence.

[The state variant includes the 14c national ⛨ coat of arms, the Vytis; a knight with blue🔍 & gold) kit, on a rearing

white 𓃗 horse, against a red ⛊ shield - imagery of Grand Duke Algirdas, rather than abstract heraldry.]

VEXILLOLOGY:* Underscoring a cultural emphasis on environmental resilience & self-determination;

• The YELLOW  symbolizes the sun ☀️ (specifically dawn) & prosperity, agricultural abundance & optimism [Derived from imagery of natural cycles, diurnal renewal & the harvest 🌾 as depicted with yellow, in Lithuanian folk textiles & motifs.]

• The  GREEN Stripe  represent forests 🌲, untamed landscapes, [the extensive woodlands, that provide resources / sustenance allowing for resistance against invaders.] nature's vitality, liberty, & hope,

• The RED Stripe commemorates blood 🩸 shed for independence, courage & the earth / fertile soil [Traced to traditions in folk art & costume, where red denoted vitality & martial resolve]

Alternative interpretations connect the palette to pre-Christian agrarian / nature symbols, with yellow akin to solar 🔅 deities, green to sacred 🌳 groves,

and red to ritual earth offerings, but the theory lacks any direct linkage to the 1918 adoption.

* Some critics of the time questioned the yellow-green-red palette for being too similar to Ethiopia's flag🔍 - it is also similar to the German🔍, Bulgarian🔍, & Hungarian flags🔍

all of which pre-date Lithuania's tricolor, but the resemblances were not intentional.

** The STUDY of FLAGS; their history, symbolism, usage, and design. From Latin vexillum - referring to a Roman military standard / flag (from velum= cloth/ covering/sail/curtain

[PIE🔍 root weg = to weave / to cover]) + Greek suffix -logia = study]