Flag of Myanmar

The modern flag of Myanmar is considered one of the youngest flags in the world, as it was adopted only in 2010. The flag of Myanmar is often called the flag of Burma, but it is not. Burma is the old name of the country, which was changed in accordance with the 2008 constitution, after which the new name Myanmar and the new flag were approved.

The presence of yellow, green and red colors as the basis of the national flag is a tribute to the tricolor flag used in Burma's struggle for independence.

Meaning of the colors of the Myanmar flag:

• yellow - unity, harmony, wisdom, happiness and unity of all ethnic groups;
• green color symbolizes a peaceful country and fertile land;
• red color conveys the meaning of courage and determination;
• the white color of the star represents purity, righteousness and compassion.

History of the Myanmar flag

The very first flag (1300-1500) had a green background with a yellow diamond. From 1700 to 1885, the flag of the Burmese Empire of the Konbaung Dynasty was completely white with a peacock in the center. In 1824-1939, the British flag (the Union Jack) was used.  
The next flag was the flag of British Burma during its separation from India (1939-1941). Later it was used again from January 3, 1945 to 1948 after the end of the Japanese era. It is a flag with a blue background, a small image of the British flag in the upper left corner, and a light green peacock in a yellow circle on the right. From 1943 to 1945, the first flag with a design similar to the current one was used - three horizontal lines of yellow, green and red. In the center of the flag is a peacock in a white circle.
Since 1948, when the country gained independence from Great Britain, it has used a red flag with a large white star in the upper left corner, surrounded by five smaller white stars in a blue rectangle. The large white star symbolizes the nation, and the five smaller stars represent the territories of the five main ethnic groups that gained independence. This flag was used until 1974.

In 1974, it changed it to the flag of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. This flag has a white cogwheel and grain crop that are surrounded by 14 small stars in the center of a blue rectangle. The stars represent the 14 provinces. As for the image of the cogwheel and grain, this symbolism comes from the communist and socialist countries of the time and stands for the slogan "from manual farming to mechanized farming".
The old national flag, which had been in use since 1974, was replaced by the current flag on October 21, 2010. Along with the new flag, the name of the country was changed from Burma to Myanmar in accordance with the 2008 Constitution. The flag design is a white five-pointed star on a background of three horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red. This flag was approved in a referendum in 2008. On October 21, 2010, at exactly 3 p.m. local time, the old flag was removed and a new one was raised. The authorities received an order to burn all the old flags.

Interesting facts about the flag of Myanmar

• The colors of the Myanmar flag are traditionally pan-African;
• the flag of Lithuania is similar to the flag of Myanmar, but without a white star;
• the flag of Ghana and the flag of Bolivia have the same colors, but in a different order - red, yellow, green;
• some historians claim that the flag of Myanmar appeared earlier than the flag of Europe. The earliest information about the flags of Europe dates back to the 1500s, while in Myanmar there is evidence of the use of flags as early as the 1300s;
• Myanmar is the most ethnically diverse country on earth, so it is believed that the flag does not fully reflect this diversity.