Guatemala Flag

The Guatemala Flag represents a symbol of the country’s history and freedom. Each piece of the flag has its own symbolism for that country. The flag’s design is a single vertical white stripe surrounded by two vertical sky blue stripes. In the center of the white stripe is Guatemala’s coat of arms. The coat of arms contains a shield with two Remington rifles and two gold swords tied together laurel branches on a light blue field. The wording on the parchment scroll on the coat of arms reads “Libertad 15 de Sieptembre de 1851, which is Guatemala’s date of independence. Atop the coat of arms rests a Quetzal bird.

The symbolism of the flag is unique. The two sky blue stripes represent the fact that Guatemala is located between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The white stripe represents the purity of the country’s values and peace. The coat of arms contains meaning as well. The crossed rifles represent Guatemala’s willingness to defend itself by war as necessary. The laurel branches represent victory, and the swords represent honor. The Quetzal bird represents the symbol of independence and autonomy in the nation. Others can symbolize the colors this way that the blue represents justice loyalty and the blue of the sky, and the white represents purity and integrity.

The history behind the current Guatemalan flag is that it was amended in December 26, 1997. This makes the flag one of the newest in the world. The original flag was adopted in 1871.Guatemala first received its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. The colors on the flag give reference to the flag of the former Federation of the United Provinces of Central America. Guatemala was a member of the Federation from 1823 to 1839. The flag represents by its colors that it is a member of Central America.

Some interesting facts are also noted about this flag. First, the stripes of the flag were changed from horizontal to vertical in 1871 to distinguish the flag from the other countries’ flags in Central America. Second there are two official versions of the flag flown in the country; the one with the coat of arms is flown over government and national offices, the other version without the coat of arms is flown over civil or private homes.