Rhineland-Palatinate & Saarland - Germany Flag Symmetry Part III

Flag of Rhineland-Palatinate

Both of these flags reuse the colours of the national ensign.

Upon their heraldic shields are matching elements. Both have an English St. Georges Cross look a like. The red cross on a white is a very popular symbol. Officially it represents the Archbishopric of Trier. The crowned Gold Lion on a black background also represent the same herald - the Elector of Palatinate.

Flag of Saarland

Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate are in the twilight zone in between France and Germany. Essentially the Rhine River that starts in Switzerland and ends in the Netherlands is somewhat of a natural divide between Germany and France. But the Rhine has a German tilt, likewise Switzerland is more 'German' than French, just as the Dutch are more closely related to the Germans. Germany was called "Deutchland" after all. In Pennsylvania the great misnomer of the Pennsylvania Dutch has confused common folk into thinking that they are Dutch when they are really in fact German.

France hoped to Created a New Nation in the 1950s: Saarland but the Saar people voted to reunite with West-Germany. To the right was the flag of Saarland under French Rule. It could have become the national flag of Saarland if independence were chosen? Perhaps it is in some other 'quantum' reality. If Saarland went it alone, she could've kept company with other in between mini nations like Andorra, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein

After WWII Saarland was plucked away from Germany and ruled by France from 1947 unto 1956. In a way Saarland is the Okinawa of Japan, because the US plucked Okinawa away from Japan and made it US territory. But since Okinawa was mostly Okinawan and the Japanese were being a loyal allies, the US returned it in 1972. Likewise France allowed Saarland to return to Germany a wee bit earlier. Finally just as Saarland is middle point between Germany and France, Okinawa too is a middle point in between China and Japan. But both Saarland and Okinawa have German and Japanese tilts, respectively.

Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate are monkey in middle regions between France and Germany sort of like the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Alsace-Lorraine, and Switzerland. However these middle regions have linguistic and cultural tilts towards Germany.

Also instead of beer being their preferred choice of 'fungal dope' the people of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate are more like their French-siblings to the West with a fond love growing and dining with fine wine.

Link to Part IV

Thuringia & Hesse: German Flag Symmetry - Part II

Flag of Thuringia
formerly a part of East Germany

Germany has 16 federal subjects and as in previous posts about the sub-federal bodies of Japan and Russia, the flags of Germany also align by coincidental flag aspects. The modern flag of Thuringia and Hesse are what I call "fraternal banners." Thuringia and Hesse feature a horizontally divided red and white background, with red and white striped lion on a shield of arms. Both the shields have golden crowns, but in different positions. The lion of Thuringia is wearing it, while the top of Hesse's shield is decorated with a crown.

Flag of Hesse
formerly a part of West Germany

The coincidence of stars with a red and white striped lion seems to reflect an essence of American Patriotism. Coincidentally during the American Revolution many German Units serving the British Empire came from Hesse. Much, much earlier, Hesse was united with Thuringia but broke away during the War of Thuringian Succession in the mid 1200s. In any case, military units from all over Western Germany assisted Parliament and King during the English American Colonial Rebellion in 1775. The majority came from Hesse, and consequently German soldiers were miscategorized as 'Hessians.'

A Battle Flag of the Hessian Troops

from the American Revolution
(note the similarity to the lions of Hesse and Thuringia)

In the middle ages, Hesse and Thuringia were divided by the Royal Powers. A few hundred years later, Hesse played a critical and well remembered role in the American Revolution - at the Battle of Trenton of 1776. This Patriot Victory restored Congresses' faith in General Washington and rallied the Patriots. A few hundred years later, the Americans were destined to return the favor. By dividing Modern Germany in the wake of WWII. Subsequently, Hesse was fated to be an ally of Western Europe, while Thuringia was chosen to be a servant of Eastern Europe.

Close up of modern shields

In 1936 Hesse and Thuringia were drafted to fight as brothers against the World in 1941. After 1945, the World saw that these German Brothers were impressed to fight against each other, until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

CLICK HERE FOR PART III
CLICK HERE FOR PART I

Baden-Wurttenburg & Saxony Anhalt: German Flag Symmetry - Part I

Flag of Saxony-Anhalt

The sub-national flags of Germany are also subject to the phenomena of flag symmetry. The flags of Germany have an interesting blend of time lines. They have elements from the feudal age, mid 1800s, and post modern age - as Saxony-Anhalt's flag was altered in 1991. The boundaries of Germany were very chaotic during the 1900s, but since the end of the World War II and the reunification of East and West Germany, new flags were adopted for the sub-federal or semi-equivalent "states" that make up the modern nation of Germany. Since the end of USSR the German States have stabilized.

Flag of Baden-Wurttenburg

The flag of Baden-Wurttenburg matches with Saxony-Anhalt. These two German states are united by black and yellow. Their flags are divided horizontally in the middle. Baden-Wurttenburg has black on top and yellow on the bottom, while Saxony-Anhalt is 'counter charged,' so to speak. In the center of both flags are heraldic shields, without supporters. The three bold lions of Baden-Wurttenburg match with the bold bear and eagle of Saxony-Anhalt. There are two official flags for Baden-Wurttenburg, the more prestigious service flag is shown. In the aftermath of WWII these two states were drafted into opposite political camps of the Cold War. Baden-Wurttenburg became a part of West Germany aligned with USA, while Saxony-Anhalt became a part of East Germany aligned with USSR.

November 9, 1989 - 11/09/89
a broken heart was healed today

In 1984 the issue of a United Germany seem like a distant wish, for some distant of generation yet to be conceived. It seemed that our world was to be permanently divided into two political and aggressive polarities. However history is full of dynamic shifts, and the bitter frost between the East and West Germany melted in the Autumn of 1989.

East Germany and West Germany were nations created by hatred and destroyed by Love

This was a fall of walls to remember in the fall of 89'. For a short moment the world fell into love and peace. In the aftermath of this joyful reunion, a flag of the Saxons was reborn in the re-booted and post modern province of Saxony-Anhalt on January 29, 1991. These two Germany States carry different histories and share a special bond. This fateful alignment of flags, is reinforced by their provincial colours, let us hope we never forget their stories.

CLICK HERE FOR PART II

April 5 2011 Reservation

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Tangled Flag - Disney's expanded remake of the girl with really long hair - Rapunzel

The hero or anti-hero buying the Rapunzel Flag

In Disney's feature animated movie of 2010, Tangled, a flag plays an important part. When Rapunzel and her consorts enter the castle town, the townsfolk are in the middle of celebrating. They dance and sing around the flags and banners of their lost princess.

Disney's adaptation of Rapunzel retells this childhood classic with an altered and expanded plot, and a healthy dose of classic Disney Charm.

The Castle Town Decorated with Flags and Pennants of the Lost Princess

Here Rapunzel looks at a flag that kinda' looks familiar at the town fair, and again at home. Eventually she is able to connect the dots of her destiny by putting it all together.

I betcha' if she read any of my flag symmetry posts, she'd totally get my flag matrix code!

The Four Tribal Elements: Part II

In a previous post, a new type of flag was displayed to show the 'four elements' of a persons general ethnic identity, using the metaphor of a ship.

Since then, two new flags have been added, the jack and the ensign. The jack is the flag at the front-forward part of the ship. Remember Jack from the Titanic when he was flying with Rose? In ship code they call it the bow.

The flag at the other end, the rear of the ship, is usually called an ensign - sort of like "end-sign." I call this part of the ship the Rudder or Propeller-side. (In making it harder than it needs to be & our secret snob code) Mariners call it the stern.


Anyways at the bow of this ship, in the jack position is the Soviet Jack of 1969 (the Commies had two jack designs, just like the Confederacy). In my flag sail matrix-code the jack represents where the person was born regardless if he or she was a proper citizen of the place. The jack Flag represents the geographical position of the place of birth. This person was born July 4, 1969 in Kazakhstan. The jack is simply the geographical position at birth.

Also, the jack is next to the faith sail of mommy - who was a Catholic. At the other end of the ship is the astrological sign of this person - Cancer. Why an astrological flag? It simply points to the geography of the cosmos at the time of birth. Wouldn't one think the position of ones earth bound coordinates are just as important as the cosmological geography of the heavens at the moment of birth? Besides the jack is next to 'mother' earth while the ensign is next the ones 'heavenly' father.

Let's suppose the back story on this person is - his father was a part of an American Diplomatic mission to the Soviet Union. His mom and dad were stationed at the US Embassy in Moscow, but they were on a guided tour of the Soviet Union when mom gave birth two weeks early, on a train while passing though Kazakhstan. With the blessings of his Lutheran Dad and Catholic Mom, he married a rich Jewish Girl and subsequently converted to the Faith of Abraham - Version 1.0

Link to "The Four Tribal Elements: Part I"

The Mailbox Flag - with a NAVA flare

The mailbox flag is one special vexilloid so common that is often overlooked as being a flag. Most mailboxes have red flags, but there are a few that simply have red 'poles.' The association of a red flag our mailbox is so strong that even electronic mail continues to use virtual flags with email icons.

Mail Box Flag
painted with NAVA Colours

The mailbox to the right has been altered a bit - it has been painted with the NAVA Flag colours! Most mailbox flags are made out of metal, but I have seen a few wooden ones. Sometimes the 'flag' is just a red arm. But if you look around most mailbox flags are red and made out of metal.