Finally, a new blog post! After an amazing trip to Iceland dedicated almost entirely to writing, I found myself back in Saskatoon with a long list of responsibilities and not enough time to simply sit down and work on my blog! Hopefully I can keep up with it on a regular basis again!
The flags shown here represent Saints in the most formal sense of the word, deceased individuals who have been officially canonized by the Christian faith as holiest of holy. They have been attributed with miraculous and self-sacrificial acts, and have gone on to become Patron Saints of places and peoples the world over. This list is for them, but also for the folks in our lives who we identify as "Saints" on a personal level. We all know a few; friends, family members or acquaintances who are are just genuinely good people, always going out of their way to do the right thing or help others. The world would be a sad place without them.
I'm not a religious person myself, but the stories of the Saints are undeniably interesting. This was a difficult list to compile, the flags that represent the Saints varying only slightly. Most of them utilize a simple two-toned or three-toned cross design and are found in the United Kingdom.
1. Union Jack
The flag of the UK is probably the most recognizable flag in the world and also the ultimate Saint flag. It can be found in the canton (upper left corner) of numerous country, territory and military flags, as well as provincial flags in Canada (Manitoba and Ontario). By combining the following three flags, the Union Jack represents three patron Saints: St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick.
A. Flag of England / St. George's Cross
St. George is not only a Patron Saint of England, but of numerous other places as well, including Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, India, Iraq, Israel and Portugal, to name just a few. George was a Roman soldier, and has become known in legend as being a dragon slayer. By order of Emperor Diocletian, he was executed in the year 303 for renouncing the Roman gods in favour of his Christian faith.
B. Flag of Scotland / St. Andrew's Cross
St. Andrew was a fisherman and biblical disciple, he and his brother Peter called by Jesus to be "fishers of men." He is a Patron Saint of Scotland, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine. The X-shaped cross found here is known as a St. Andrew's Cross or saltire; like St. George's Cross, several world flags have borrowed this simple design, though it is not representative of a Saint in many if those cases. In this case, the X symbolizes the cross upon which Andrew was crucified, supposedly shaped this way by his own request; he did not deem himself worthy enough to die on a t-shaped cross as Jesus did. The flag of Nova Scotia (or 'New Scotland') is a version of this flag with the colours inverted and the Scottish Standard (a lion crest) at its centre.
C. Flag of Ireland / St. Patrick's Cross
St. Patrick is perhaps the most popular Saint in the western world, commonly celebrated with drunkenness on March 17th, the date of his death. He is, of course, the Patron Saint of Ireland, though Ireland is not his homeland. He was actually captured by Irish raiders and brought there as a slave from Wales, eventually escaping, only to return as a religious figure some time later. There is a little known legend of Patrick ridding Ireland of werewolves, and he is better known for driving all the snakes out. He is partnered with the 3-leafed shamrock, which he employed to illustrate the Holy Trinity (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). As you can see, the flag also uses the saltire. Though considered a flag of Ireland, it is not accepted by all Irish people as such, some feeling it is too closely connected with England.
2. Flag of Cornwall, England / St. Piran's Cross
The flag of Cornwall is my personal favourite of the Saint flags. Sometimes you just can't beat the contrast of white and black, often used to symbolize light and darkness, good and evil. In this case, the colours are meant to symbolize white tin spilling from the black ore of St. Piran's fire. St. Piran is acknowledged, in fact, for having rediscovered tin-smelting in the 6th century, making him not only a Patron Saint of Cornwall, but of tin miners as well. One legend tells of Piran being savagely tied to a mill stone and cast into a stormy sea, the waters immediately becoming calm and carrying him across to the shores of Cornwall. His flag is very similar to the flag of St. David (Patron Saint of Wales), which displays a yellow cross on a black field.
3. Flag of St. Lucia
The flag of St. Lucia is the only flag on my list without a cross design, and, in truth, it isn't really an official Saint flag at all; I just wanted to mix things up a bit! But then again, the Caribbean island of St. Lucia is named after St. Lucy of Syracuse, and that's good enough for me. The blue symbolizes blue skies and ocean, the white and black symbolize racial harmony, and the triangles symbolize the island's two towering peaks (the Pitons). And coincidently, the yellow found on the flag represents light/sunshine, and 'light' is the meaning of Lucy's name. She is best known for being the Patron Saint of the blind. When she was supposed to be executed for her faith (year 304 - like St. George, she was a victim of Diocletian's rule), the power of God held her fast in her place, immovable even when tied to a team of oxen; neither could they burn her, so they tortured her instead by gouging out her eyes. Yikes.
4. Flag of London, England
The flag of London mimics England's St. George's Cross with the addition of a red sword in the canton, enough to pay tribute to an entirely different Saint: St. Paul. The sword symbolizes St. Paul's matyrdom by beheading. He is one of the apostles and a significant contributor to the New Testament. He is the Patron Saint of London, and my Catholic Secondary School was named after him (which may or may not be the reason this flag made my list)! If you're a flag geek like me, you might find it interesting to know that this design is altered if flown as a banner (turned sideways), the sword always pointing upwards.
5. Flag of Nottinghamshire, England
There are perhaps true Saint flags that should rather have made this list, such as the flags of St. Alban, St. Edmund, St. Petroc or St. Wite. But this is my list afterall, and in my humble opinion the new flag of Nottinghamshire is a little too awesome to not make the Top 5. The design was adopted just earlier this year, chosen by popular vote on the BBC website. Again, the cross of St. George is present, with an added bonus: the image and colours of Britain's favourite outlaw, Robin Hood. Robin Hood, of course, is not a Saint in the official sense of the word, but he did steal from the rich and give to the poor, which makes him kind of saintly, right (not that I condone stealing from anyone)? And yes, he is technically a character of folklore, but folklore is usually rooted in truth. And there is another reason I picked this flag above the others; Robin Hood is a more accurate representation of those personal Saints I mentioned in this list's introduction, the average folks who dedicate their lives to selfless (and often thankless) good deeds.
