The Secret History Behind Finland's Flag

Finland's flag is a blue cross on white — lakes and sky on snow.

After Finland declared independence on December 6, 1917, there was wide support for blue and white as the national colors. The "Blue Cross Flag", designed by Eero Snellman and Bruno Tuukkanen, was legislated as Finland's flag on May 29, 1918. The blue is said to stand for the country's lakes, rivers, sea and sky, and the white for its snow-covered land.

The timing mattered: the civil war between the Whites and the Reds had just ended, and red was far from popular as a national color, so Parliament chose a design that left it out entirely.

The date printed on every Finland design in our catalog, December 6, 1917, is Finland's Independence Day.

A cross, two colors, and a whole landscape.

See the Finland Northern Lights Tee → · Browse the Finland collection → — or explore the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Story Cards page.