Sri Lanka

The flag of Sri Lanka, also called the Lion Flag, consists of gold lion passant, holding a sword in its right fore paw, in front of a crimson background with four golden bo leaves in each corner. Around the background is a yellow border, and to its left are 2 vertical stripes of equal size in saffron and green, with the saffron stripe closest to the lion.

It was adopted in 1951 following the recommendations of a committee appointed by the 1st Prime Minister of Ceylon (now know as Sri Lanka) D.S. Senanayake.

History[]

For many years the lion was a symbol of hope and freedom. It was extensively used by Sri Lankan monarchs, until Ceylon (as the country was then called) was brought under the British Empire in 1815.^[2] After that point the British Empire used the Union Jack.

The flag was then forgotten by everybody, including the Sri Lankan population, until its re-discovery by a Sri Lankan independence supporter, who found it in Chelsea, England. The design was then published in a newspaper and was once again made known to the Sri Lankan public.

After Sri Lanka gained it's independence from Britain an MP of the Sri Lankan Parliament suggested that the flag be re-adopted as a symbol of the Sri Lankan independence. The motion carried and the flag was again used. The year was 1948. On March 6, the same year the Prime Minister appointed a seven member National flag Committee headed by the leader of the House Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to advise him on the question of the National flag of Ceylon. After several sittings spread over two years, the committee gave its final recommendations on February 13, 1950, and the flag was changed to a design very similar to the current one. The changes were adopted in 1951.

In 1972 the leaves replaced "finials" that were previously located in the corners. In 1978 the leaves were made more "natural".^[3]^[4]

Other flags[]

Ensigns[]

The merchant vessel, naval, civil, and air force ensigns use the official flag of Sri Lankan flag in the canton, on fields of blue, white, red, and light blue, respectively. The country's roundel is added on the lower corner of the air force ensign.

Presidential Standard[]

This flag was personal to every President of Sri Lanka, and as such the design changed when a new president assumed office. On July 15 of 2022, the acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe abolished the presidential flag.

Symbolism[]

The National Flag of Sri Lanka represents the country and its heritage as rallying device that integrates the minorities with the majority race.

Most symbols in the flag have been given distinctive meanings.

Symbol	Represents
The lion	The Sinhalese ethnicity
The bo leaves	Buddhism and its influence on the nation. They also stand for the four virtues of Kindness, Friendliness, Happiness and Equanimity.
The sword of the lion	The sovereignty of the nation
The tail of the lion	The noble eightfold path of Buddhism
The curly hair on the lion's head	Religious observance, wisdom and meditation
The beard of the lion	Purity of words
The handle of the sword	The elements of water, fire, air and earth
The nose of the lion	Intelligence
The two front paws of the lion	Purity in handling wealth.
The vertical orange stripe	The Tamil ethnicity
The vertical green stripe	The Muslim faith and Moorish ethnicity
The yellow border round the flag	People from other cultures living in Sri Lanka
The crimson background	Other minor religions

^[5]

References[]

Featured Article	Sri Lanka
This page was featured on the VexiWiki main page on December 2008.

[1] ttp://flagspot.net/flags/lk.html#hist

[2] Wikipedia

[3] The Sri Lankan Lion flag -how it came to be

[4] ttp://flagspot.net/flags/lk.html#hist

[5] The National Flag of Sri Lanka

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