On Sunday, August 23, Ukraine marks National Flag Day. The blue-and-yellow combination became a national symbol in the 19th century, but the official holiday was established only in 2004.
Why August 23?
President Leonid Kuchma established National Flag Day by a decree dated August 23, 2004. The decree was amended in 2009 to introduce an annual official flag-raising ceremony.
The choice of date is often explained by a claim that the blue-and-yellow flag was brought into the Verkhovna Rada’s session hall on August 23, 1991, following the failure of the coup in Moscow. However, parliament did not meet that day.
The flag was brought into the chamber on the evening of August 24, after lawmakers had adopted the Declaration of Independence. The blue-and-yellow flag was raised over the parliament building later, on September 4, 1991.
It was officially approved as the state flag of independent Ukraine on January 28, 1992. The flag consists of two equal horizontal bands, blue above yellow, and has a width-to-length ratio of 2:3.
Blue and yellow were used long before independence
The combination of blue and gold has deep heraldic roots. A golden lion on a blue field was used as a symbol of the Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia and later of the Ruthenian Voivodeship.
Blue and yellow became firmly established as Ukrainian national colors during the European revolutions of 1848, known as the “Springtime of Nations”. In June of that year, a blue-and-yellow flag was raised over Lviv City Hall. Such flags were later used at Ukrainian events in Galicia, Bukovyna and Zakarpattia.
The popular explanation that the blue band represents the sky and the yellow band symbolizes a wheat field emerged much later. Historically, the colors primarily originated in Ukrainian heraldry, although the image of a blue sky over a wheat field has become their best-known modern interpretation.
During the 20th century, the blue-and-yellow flag was used by the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Ukrainian State and Carpatho-Ukraine. Under Soviet rule, displaying it publicly could lead to persecution or imprisonment.
The flag brought into parliament by lawmakers on August 24, 1991, is now preserved in the Verkhovna Rada as Ukraine’s Independence Flag. It measures four by eight meters.
