Photo Credit:
Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador. |
The flag’s design is based on the heraldic traditions that came
to Newfoundland with the province’s earliest settlers, combined
with design elements found in both European flag designs and in pendants
made by Newfoundland and Labrador’s earlier inhabitants, the Beothuk
and the Naskapi Indians. When hung vertically the flag displays the cross
that was the central religious symbol of all European settlers. It also
alludes to the ceremonial sword used in memory of fallen soldiers. The
three points formed by the sword and the long red triangles recall the
trident of Neptune, god of the sea. The colours, red, blue and yellow,
are the primary colours from which all colour is created; the addition
of yellow (as close as I could come to gold), not included in the heraldic
tradition, is an important allusion to Newfoundland and Labrador’s
modern position outside the laws of the founding countries of Britain
and France.The white background allows the flag to stand out against a
blue, or often grey Newfoundland and Labrador sky. |
