Monday 29th June
Good day everyone. We hope you had a lovely weekend. It always goes so fast!
Over the weekend I watched a documentary that Mrs Higgins had recommended. This documentary was based in a secondary school and it involved scientists working with some year 7 pupils to explore their identity. During filming the year 7 pupils were asked to bring in objects to describe their identity. Straight away I started to think about what objects I would use to describe my identity and I would certainly need a Welsh flag.
Flags are often used to show that we belong to a community, organisation or nation and that we share beliefs, goals, rules and regulations.
Flags are national symbols. Every country has got a specific flag as their national symbol. The first flags were flown in the 18th century to tell others that we own a piece of land and that we rule over the people and the land. In earlier centuries certain groups of people had decorated spears and staff which showed their cultural symbols. Later people also used ribbons, leather or silk decorations on the spears to distinguish their group from another group. The early explorers always put crosses or sculptures up when they landed on unknown land.
When Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the moon and the first steps on the moon in 1969, he erected an American flag on the moon. Do you know what the American flag looks like? Flags don’t only represent countries, the Olympic Flag is one example of a flag that is recognised around the world.
All cultures use certain symbols which are meaningful to them, some of the symbols are even universal, that is they have the same meaning all over the world.
Sun: the circle of the sun symbolizes unity and energy. See the flags of Japan and Argentina.
Moon: the moon is usually displayed in crescent shape to distinguish it from the symbol of the sun. In combination with a star, the moon represents divinity. See the flags of Tunisia, Turkey and Singapore.
Stars: constellations of stars often represent energy. See the flags of the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.
Cross: in ancient times the cross symbolised the different points of the compass, but it is now also taken as the symbol of faith. See flags of England, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.
There are also many other symbols used in world flags. The dragon in the Welsh flag and the maple leaf in the Canadian flag being just two examples.
Different flags will have different meanings to people. The Welsh flag is important to me because I was born in Wales, the Cornish flag is also part of my identity as that is where my mum was born and the English flag and German flags also form part of my heritage. As a family, research flags together and discuss those that mean something to you - perhaps you, or your parents or your grandparents were born in a different country. Use it as an opportunity to find out more about you and your identity. Please do email us with the information you find out, we love finding out more about you children@olive.dudley.sch.uk. I am going to ask the school staff to do the same and hopefully I will be able to share their responses with you in a future blog.
We miss you. Stay safe.
Which countries do these flags represent? There may have been some clues in the blog.