Flag of Latvia

The national flag of Latvia consists of two crimson-red stripes and a white stripe between them. The ratio of red and white stripes is 2:1:2. The ratio of width to length is 1:2.

What do the colors of the Latvian flag mean?

• The color red indicates strength, energy, courage, heroism, generosity, love and patriotism. In a historical context, red can also symbolize blood, as a sign of sacrifice in the struggle for independence and freedom.
• White is often associated with light, purity, justice, and loyalty. National flags often use white to express the idea of purity, nobility, openness and truthfulness.

Legends about the flag of Latvia

In the 20s of the 20th century, several fables and legends about the origin of the ancient Latvian flag became popular in folklore.

The legend says that the Estonians laid siege to a Latvian castle and its inhabitants began to suffer from hunger. They had to decide whether to surrender or attack. Leaning toward the second option, they first decided to slaughter a sacrificial ram, and the woodcutter dipped his white shirt in its blood. The place inside the shirt where he held his hand while dipping remained white. This is how the red, white, and red symbol appeared. They would also attach this "flag" to a map as a talisman for victory and go on the attack.

The second legend tells of a battle between Latvians and German knights. In one battle, the Latvians took away the enemy's white flag. Their commander was wounded in that battle, and he was buried on this white flag. Everyone swore to the dying leader that they would fight until they expelled the enemy from their land. The flag became completely red from the blood of the commander, and only the place where he lay remained white. Since then, Latvians have been using this combination of colors in their battle flag. 

History of the national flag of Latvia

The history of the red, white, and red flag is long, but there is no exact information about how it came to be. The earliest evidence of the red, white, and red flag can be found in the 13th century Echo Chronicle, where Latgalian warriors came from Cesis with such a flag. The Latgals were one of the tribes that lived on the territory of Latvia in ancient times. The flag is also the subject of several historical stories. 

The red, white, and scarlet colors were revived in the mid-19th century, when the Young Latvians movement developed, the national awakening began, and more and more people turned to the study of the Latvian past, ancient tales and chronicles. At the end of the last century, various societies and student groups chose the red, white, and red colors for their flags and wore ribbons in these colors on their hats. In 1870, they were adopted as the national colors. These colors were also used at the first Latvian song festival in 1873.The red and white colors can also be seen on the flags of Latvian rifle battalions founded during World War I.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the blue-green-gold flag was more popular and loved among Latvians living in America than the red-white-red flag. The flag of the present day was created on the basis of the flag of the Lettonia student corporation in the 1880s, which, at a time when Latvians did not yet have their own flag, became to some extent the national flag for a while.

The oldest known red, white, and red flag was made in 1916 and first hoisted over the Latvian Society House in Valmiera in 1917. It is worth noting that it was made of silk by Marianna Straumane, a teacher at the Valmiera refugee shelter who was a student and later the wife of journalist Jānis Lapiņš, who came up with the idea for the flag. But what is interesting is the fact that the flag created by Marianna is not identical to the modern one and differs in several elements. The red, white, and red flag created in Valmiera had a narrower white stripe and was also decorated with a large yellow sun. This first Latvian flag is still preserved and displayed today.

In 1917, the flag's color ratio was fixed as 2:1:2. This flag was drawn by the artist Ansis Cirulis and became the basis for the flag of Latvia.

In mid-November, Latvians raise and honor the Latvian flag twice - on November 11, Lāčplesis Day, and on November 18, Latvian Independence Day. If the second date, Latvia's Independence Day, proclaimed on November 18, 1918, at the National Theater, is clear, why is Lāčplesis Day celebrated? This day is celebrated in Latvia in honor of the victory of the independent Latvian army over the Western Volunteer Army, or the so-called Bermont troops, on November 11, 1919. The Latvian army launched a decisive offensive against the Bermonters on November 3, and although the fighting was fierce, the Bermonters were driven out of Riga on November 11. 

On February 15, 1922, the Constitution of Latvia approved the red, white, and red flag as the national flag. It had color proportions of 2:1:2 (red + white + red). This distinguished it from the recently established Austrian flag, which had 1:1:1 proportions. On August 25, 1940, the red, white, and red flags were banned.

It was not until the late 1980s that a general initiative led to the recognition of the red, white, and red flag. In 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR decided that the red, white, and red flag was the national flag. On February 27 of the same year, it was presented to the Council of Ministers of the Latvian SSR, executive committees, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and other official buildings.