The Secret History Behind Nepal's Flag

Nepal's flag is the only national flag in the world that is not a rectangle — and the only one taller than it is wide.

Its shape is a double pennant: two stacked triangles, the upper one carrying a white moon and the lower one a twelve-rayed sun. The crimson stands for bravery and for the rhododendron, Nepal's national flower, and the blue border for peace.

The current flag was adopted on December 16, 1962, together with a new constitution. Until then, the sun and the crescent moon on the flag had human faces; they were removed to modernize the design. Nepal's constitution even includes geometric instructions for drawing the flag with a ruler and compasses — most countries describe their flag, Nepal's law constructs it.

The date printed on every Nepal design in our catalog, September 25, 1768, is tied to the day Prithvi Narayan Shah, after conquering the Kathmandu Valley, proclaimed himself King of Nepal (sources give September 25 or 26). He moved his capital to Kathmandu and gave the name "Nepal", which had referred only to the valley, to the whole unified country.

Two triangles, no rectangle, and a law that draws the flag instead of just describing it.

See the Nepal Everest Summit Tee → · Browse the South Asia collection → — or explore the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Story Cards page.