Macedonia Flag

The description of Macedonia flag consists of a yellow sun in the center. Extending from the sun are eight rays which widen from center to the edge. This all appears on a red background.

The Macedonian flag is based on a design of the Star of Vergina. Red is an important color to the Macedonia flag. The sun symbolizes “the new sun of liberty” mentioned in the Macedonia national anthem. An interesting fact is that Macedonian law states that the flag of another country may not be flown unless on certain religious and public holidays. Even then, the flag of the other country must be flown next to the Macedonian flag.

The flag was enacted on October 5, 1995. Macedonia gained freedom from Yugoslavia on September 8, 1991. Greece had some objections to the country calling itself Macedonia, and to the flag that was created from 1991 to 1995. Greece was concerned because it has a county of Macedonia and worried that the country might try to take the county. The other concern was that on the former flag of Macedonia appeared Alexander the Great’s Star of Vergina. Vergina was the former capital of historic Macedonia. The Greeks felt that this was a symbol belonging to Greece not to the Slavs because it was an emblem of Phillip II of Macedon who brought together Greece in the fourth century BC. Macedonia agreed to remove the symbol from their flag.

Phillip the II’s son, Alexander the Great brought together a great empire that collapsed after his death. Macedon lost to the Romans in the Macedonian Wars. In 395, Macedonia was made a part of the Byzantine Empire. Then during the fourteenth to the nineteenth century it was a part of the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan Wars split Macedonia between Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia. After World War I, Serbian Macedonia became a part of Yugoslavia. From 1941 to 1944, Bulgaria occupied Macedonia. In 1946, Macedonia became a republic that was part of President Tito’s federal Yugoslavia. In 1991 Macedonia received independence. In 1999, the province of Kosovo warred, which led to numerous Albanian refugees. In 2001, fighting between the government and the refugees led to people being displaced.

Photo of the Macedonia flag, and Macedonian flag wallpapers can be found on numerous websites available on the internet.