Georgia marks national flag day
The day of the national flag was first marked in Georgia in 2012.Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Today Georgia marks the day of its national flag.
The current national flag was officially introduced on 14 January 2004.
The flag was used by the Georgian patriotic movement following the country's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Georgian leaders shared congratulations via their official Twitter accounts:
January 14, Georgia's #Nationalflag Day. Excited by our proudly waving Five Cross flag (ხუთჯვრიანი). pic.twitter.com/Cg2iiPvbMr
— MFA of Georgia (@MFAgovge) January 14, 2019
By the late 1990s, the design had become widely known as 'the Georgian historical national flag' as vexillologists had pointed out the red-on-white Jerusalem cross shown as the flag of Tbilisi in a 14th-century map by Domenico and Francesco Pizzigano, the 14th century Venetian cartographers.
A majority of Georgians, including the Georgian church, supported the restoration of the flag that took place in 2004.
Illustrations of the Five Cross Flag on 1317 and 1367 naval maps by geographers Pietro Vesconte (left) and Domenico and Francesco Pizzigano, showing Georgian city forts.
The winning entry replaced an earlier, three-colour flag first adopted for the 1918-1921 First Democratic Republic of Georgia before it was restored in 1990, ahead of Georgia's proclamation of independence from the Soviet Union.
Drawn by painter Iakob Nikoladze, the design was selected for the original Republic that became independent from Imperial Russia following the 1917 Russian Revolution.
The flag of Georgia which was used before the current one. The photo depicts a sketch which was created 1918. Photo: National Georgian Archive.
The State Council of Heraldry called upon Georgian citizens today to set and raise the national flag on their home windows, balconies, fences, roofs and cars to honour Georgian statehood and independence, national and individual freedoms.
It is not right to identify the national flag only with state institutions, political parties and protest rallies. National flag day is primarily a national holiday. The national flag belongs to each family and is a symbol of dignity for every citizen of the country,” the council said.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili hosted a special event at her residency today and stated that the Georgian flag “symbolises the independence of the country, its freedom and everything which is valuable for us”.
I am very happy that today, for the first time, we raised the flag above the Atoneli Palace [which has become the residency of the Georgian president]. I have invited students today to the palace and I am happy that I will speak with them about the importance of the flag,” Zurabishvili said.
Congratulations from Ukraine to our Georgian friends (@MFAgovge)! Happy National Flag Day!#Ukraine #Georgia #Nationalflag pic.twitter.com/suGrifFPTp
— UKR Embassy in UZ (@EMBUkraine) January 14, 2019
The day of the national flag was first marked in 2012.