The Secret History Behind Lithuania's Flag
Lithuania's yellow, green and red come from folk art, not from heraldry.
On April 19, 1918, a commission that included Jonas Basanavičius, Antanas Žmuidzinavičius and Tadas Daugirdas settled on the design: three equal horizontal bands of yellow, green and red. The colors are the ones common in traditional Lithuanian weaving and crafts, and not those of the old medieval banner of the Grand Duchy, a white knight on red.
Yellow is read as grain and the sun, green as the forests and hope, and red as the land and the blood shed for the homeland.
The flag was banned during the Soviet period. Lithuania adopted its old tricolor as the official state flag again in March 1989.
The date printed on every Lithuania design in our catalog, February 16, 1918, is the Act of Independence, still celebrated as Restoration of the State Day.
A flag woven from the colors of home.
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