The Flag of Guatemala reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Flag of Guatemala

The flag of Guatemala is designed in two colors: sky blue and white. Sky blue represents the fact that is a land located between two oceans, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and the white color signifies the purity of the country's values.

The white stripe between two blue stripes originated with the national flag of United Central America, although the Guatemalan version turns the stripes vertically rather than the original horizontal design.

In the center of the flag, there is the crest with the Quetzal bird, a symbol of liberty, and the date of 15 September, 1821, the date of Central America's independence from Spain. There are crossed rifles, indicating Guatemala's willingness to defend itself by war if need be, and olive branches, the symbol for preferred peace.

National flag
List of national flags | Gallery of national flags
List of national coats of arms

This is the "Flag of Guatemala" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.