Top 5 for Trick or Treaters

Every year around this time, The Flag Shop I work at gets one or more adult customers purchasing a 3' x 5' polyester flag to use for their Halloween costume. In the spirit of the season, this list is for those Trick or Treaters looking for unique cape ideas. Happy Halloween!!!

1. Racing Flags

With a variety of plain coloured flags to choose from, the racing flags make fantastic capes for various superheroes and characters. Here's a few ideas:

Green (Start): Robin Hood, Green Lantern, Green Hornet, Green Goblin
Yellow (Danger): Robin
Red (Stop): Superman, Supergirl, Thor, King or Queen, Mighty Mouse
Blue (Move to Outside): Captain America, Wonder Woman, vintage Batman, Underdog, Wizard
White (Final Lap): Storm, Good Witch, Elvis
Black (Penalty): Witch, Warlock, Vampire, Grim Reaper, Batman 

2. St. George's Cross, Flag of England

St. George's Cross is as a perfect cape for a knight costume. And it even has some authenticity, variants of the cross used throughout history to adorn knights of the Byzantine Empire, France and England. But remember: if you're going to wear a national or provincial flag, be sure to treat it with respect!

3. Jolly Roger

The pirate flags, also known as Jolly Rogers, come in a variety of designs, the most common being variants of the skull and crossbones. They are ideal, of course, for pirate capes, and could be used for Grim Reaper costumes.

4. Flag of Norway

 

Why not use the flag of Norway for your Viking persona? Other Scandinavian flags could also work, such as Denmark, Sweden or Iceland. And there is a historic Viking raven banner as well, although it is much harder to come across.

 

5. Rainbow Flag   

I have seen the Rainbow Flag, or Pride Flag, worn as a cape more than any other flag. Usually it is worn at Pride Festivals, but I have also known it to be used as a costume piece for queer superhero characters. And recently, a customer purchased the flag for his double rainbow costume!   

Top 5 for Stargazers

An appropriate list for astronomers, astrologers, astronauts, and the folks like me, who can't help but gaze up at a star-filled sky with absolute wonder and awe. It is common to find stars on flags, but they rarely represent specific stars, constellations or asterisms. The following flags pay tribute to true stars. 

1. Flag of Brazil

"...the creators of our republican flag intended to represent the stars in the sky at Rio de Janeiro at 8:30 in the morning on 15 November 1889, the moment at which the constellation of the Southern Cross was on the meridian of Rio de Janeiro and the longer arm [of the cross] was vertical."
-Professor Paulo Araújo Duarte

Brazil's flag has 27 stars, coinciding with the country's 27 federative units (26 states, 1 Federal District). The stars, constellations and asterisms featured on the flag include Scorpio, Triangulum Australe (Southern Triangle), Sigma Octanis (South Star), Crux Australis (Southern Cross), Hydra (Water Serpent), Spica (brightest star of Virgo), Canopus, Canis Major (Greater Dog) and Procyon (brightest star of Canis Minor).     

2. Flag of Alaska, USA

The flag of Alaska honors one of the most recognizable asterisms in the northern hemisphere, the Big Dipper of the constellation Ursa Major (Larger Bear). The star in the upper corner represents Polaris, the brightest star in Ursa Minor, more commonly known as the North Star.   

3. Flag of Australia

There are 88 recognized constellations, and Crux, seen as the Southern Cross, is the smallest of them. It is easily the most common of the flag constellations, found not only on the flag of Australia, but also on the country flags of New Zealand, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Brazil.  

The large star that stands alone, called the Commonwealth Star, does not symbolize a true star, but rather the Federation of Australia.

4. Flag of Durham, North Carolina, USA

Durham celebrates its birthday on April 26th under the constellation Taurus, or the Bull. The shoulder of Taurus is the bright star cluster called Pleiades, displayed on Durham's flag. The cluster is better known as the Seven Sisters, the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione of Greek mythology.   

5. Flag of Nunavut, Canada

Like the flag of Alaska, Nunavut's flag pays tribute to the North Star, known by the Inuit as Niqirtsuituq. Because the star is recognized as a navigational beacon, it symbolizes the strong leadership of the territory's elders as well. 

The inukshuk, like the North Star, is used as a guidepost for travelers. These stone monuments may also mark sacred sites or food caches.

 

Top 5 for Irish Canadians

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day (one of my favourite days of the year), I dedicate this list to my fellow Irish Canadians! The Irish flag is undeniably the most common flag used to celebrate the occasion, but this list is comprised of some alternatives that are entirely Canadian. Cheers!

1. Canadian Red Ensign (1957-1965)  

The Canadian Red Ensign tops my list, it being the most inclusive of all Irish Canadians. The ensign was the unofficial flag of Canada before the current maple leaf design was adopted in 1965; an earlier version of the flag (1922-1957) was the design under which Canadian veterans fought the First and Second World Wars. 

There are two Irish references on this flag. The first can be found in the flag's canton (upper left corner); as mentioned in my 'Top 5 for Saints' list, the flag of the United Kingdom is a combination of three saint flags, one of these being St. Patrick's Cross to represent Ireland. The second Irish symbol can be found in the flag's crest, that being the golden harp, Ireland's long-standing emblem. 

2. Newfoundland Tricolour

The Newfoundland Tricolour (also called the 'Pink, White and Green') has been around since the 1880s and is an unofficial but popular flag of Newfoundland and Labrador. Though a topic of debate, the flag is generally believed to be based upon the nearly identical flag of Ireland. Many Newfoundlanders are of Irish descent and Irish culture is still prevalent there. It is the only province in Canada where St. Patrick's Day is a holiday, and an Irish writer once wrote that Newfoundland was "the most Irish place in the world outside of Ireland". The orange found in Ireland's flag was changed to pink in order to match the official colours of a Newfoundland Catholic group established in 1871, called The Star of the Sea Association. The Tricolour is one of few flag designs in the world to utilize the colour pink.

  

3. Flag of Montreal, Quebec

Montreal has one of the oldest St. Patrick's Day parades in the world, running consecutively since 1824! The city's flag was adopted in 1939 and represents the four largest ethnic groups of that time: the fleur-de-lis for the French, the rose for the English, the thistle for the Scottish and, of course, the shamrock for the Irish.

4. Flag of St. Patrick's Battalion

  

St. Patrick's Battalion fought with the Mexican Army in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s. The soldiers were primarily Europeans (many of which were Irish), but there were also some Canadians. Most had joined the Mexican effort after deserting the U.S. Army (the Mexican government had some great incentives). The Battalion's flag utilizes the Irish clovers and another common Irish image, the harp combined with the female personification of Ireland, known as Erin. "Erin Go Bragh" can be translated as "Ireland Forever." There are several different interpretations of this flag based upon a written description, the original design lost to history.

5. Polar Bear Flag, Northwest Territories

This may seem like an unlikely choice to make my list, but it turns out that being Irish Canadian isn't limited to humans only. In 2011, scientists discovered that polar bears interbred with now-extinct Irish brown bears during the last ice age. The maternal lineage of these Irish bears can actually be traced to 100% of today's polar bear population. The polar bear flag can be found on government buildings in the Northwest Territories.