The flag of Malta ( mt, Bandiera ta' Malta) is a bicolour, with white in the

hoist Hoist may refer to: * Hoist (device), a machine for lifting loads * Hoist controller, a machine for raising and lowering goods or personnel by means of a cable * Hydraulic hooklift hoist, another machine * Hoist (mining), another machine * Hoist ( ...

and red in the

fly Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

. A representation of the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

, awarded to Malta by

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

in 1942, is carried, edged with red, in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

of the white stripe. The flag was first recognized in the May of 1952.

Colours

The red hue in the Maltese flag is officially documented as Pantone 186 C,

RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three addi ...

(207,20,43), Hex #CF142B or

Spot Colour In offset printing, a spot color or solid color is any color generated by an ink (pure or mixed) that is printed using a ''single run'', whereas a process color is produced by printing a series of dots of different colors. The widespread offset ...

- 50% rubine red • 50% warm red. The constitution of Malta also states that the white side must be on the hoist pole while the red side must be "in the fly" Tradition states that the colours of the flag were given to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Roger I of Sicily Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the ...

in 1090. Roger's fleet landed in Malta on the completion of the Norman conquest of Sicily. It is said that local Christians offered to fight by Roger's side against the Arab defenders. In order to recognize the locals fighting on his side from the defenders, Roger reportedly tore off part of his chequered red-and-white flag. However, this story has been debunked as a 19th-century myth, possibly even earlier due to the

Mdina Mdina ( mt, L-Imdina ; phn, 𐤌𐤋𐤈, Maleṭ; grc, Μελίττη, Melíttē; ar, مدينة, Madīnah; ), also known by its Italian-language titles ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortified city in the Northern Region of Ma ...

, Malta's old capital, associating its colours with Roger's in the late Middle Ages. The white and red standard was reportedly used by Maltese insurgents during a rebellion against French occupation in September 1798. The flag of the Knights of Malta, a white cross on a red field, was a more likely source of the Maltese colours, inspiring the red and white shield used during the

British colonial period The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The flag used by the knights was also known to be the oldest still-in-use national flag. The blue canton present in the 1943 to 1964 version of the flag was removed after Maltese independence, with the George cross instead given a red fimbriation.

The George Cross

The George Cross originally appeared on the flag placed on a blue

(see

List of flags of Malta The following is a list of flags of Malta. National flags Governmental flags Military flags Historical flags Local Councils Some flags had been used prior to the creation of local councils in 1993. The coats of arms of the local cou ...

). The flag was changed on 21 September 1964 with Malta's independence when the blue canton was replaced by a red

fimbriation In heraldry and vexillology, fimbriation is the placement of small stripes of contrasting colour around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, but often simply due to the designer's subjective ...

, the intention being that the Cross appear less prominent. His Majesty King George the Sixth bestowed the George Cross to Malta on April 15th, 1942. in recognition of its courageousness during World War II. The symbol was later officially added to the Maltese flag on the 28th of December 1943 despite symbolism being in circulation between April 1942 and December 1943 depicting the flag.

Campaign

Recently, the emblem has been under consideration for removal, with an act passing in parliament in 1975 allowing the George Cross to be removed by a simple parliament majority with the reasoning being that the cross ties Malta to its turbulent, colonial past. A campaign on social media in 2013 further emphasized this point, coming up with an alternative of replacing it with the Maltese cross. Alternate flag of Malta

Civil ensign

The

civil ensign A civil ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by civilian vessels to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and the naval ensign (or war ensign). It is also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag ...

shows a red field, bordered white and charged with a blank

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

. It is also known as the Merchant's flag and/or the maritime flag of Malta.

Historical flags of Malta

References

External links

Flags, Symbols and their uses
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malta 1964 establishments in Malta Flags introduced in 1964 National symbols of Malta National flags Red and white flags

Saint George and the Dragon