Flag of Vietnam
The flag of Vietnam has a red background with a five pointed yellow star at the centre. The height of the star is such that it completely fits inside a circle having a radius equal to 1/3rd the height of flag.
The five points of the star represent farmers, workers, intellectuals, youth and soldiers.
The flag was initially adopted by North Vietnam on November 30, 1955 and later by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (United Vietnam) on July 2, 1976.
Symbolism
The Vietnamese flag had been given various interpretations throughout its usage in history. During the French-Indochina War, the elements in the flag were given the following interpretations:
- Red: represents the struggle for independence;
- Yellow: represents the skin color of the Vietnamese people;
- 5-pointed star; represents the five traditional Confucian classes of people, namely the scholars, the peasants, the craftsmen, the merchants, and the soldiers.
Later on, the flag would be interpreted in political training sessions as follows:
- Red: represents the revolution and the blood shed by people fighting for the cause;
- 5-pointed golden star: represents the social classes of laborers, peasants, intellectuals, the military, and the youth.
History
1941 |
The Vietminh was the first to adopt the current Vietnamese flag. The group was a national liberation movement that seeks liberation from France. |
1945 |
The same flag was adopted by the newly founded Democratic Republic of Vietnam which later on became the government of North Vietnam in 1954. |
July 2, 1976 |
The flag was maintained by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (United Vietnam) after the north’s victory in the Vietnam War. |
Vietnamese Historical Flags
40 AD |
The Trung sisters used a yellow banner to signify their rebellion against China. |
1802-1820 |
Emperor Gia Long took up the yellow banner as the national flag. |
1890 |
Emperor Thành Thái added three red stripes to the flag to represent the northern, central, and southern regions. |
1920 – 1945 |
A yellow banner bearing a single wide red stripe was used. By then, the Vietnamese emperor ruled over the central region by name only. |
1949 – 1955 |
The State of Vietnam adopted Emperor Thành Thái's three-striped flag. |
1955 – 1975 |
The same flag was adopted by its successor, the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). |
Flag Trivia
The former South Vietnamese flag is acknowledged by 11 states and 113 cities in the United States as a “Heritage and Freedom Flag”.
Various memorial spots in Westminster (California) and in Cabramatta (Australia) have the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag on permanent display.
The Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag were banned in Vietnam.
