Flag of Greenland facts for kids
The Flag of Greenland is a special symbol for the country. It was designed by a Greenlander named Thue Christiansen. The flag has two equal stripes, one white on top and one red on the bottom. In the middle, there's a large circle. The top half of the circle is red, and the bottom half is white.
In Greenlandic, the flag is called Erfalasorput, which means "our flag". People also sometimes call it Aappalaartoq, meaning "the red one." This name is used for both the Greenlandic flag and the Dannebrog, which is Denmark's flag. Today, people in Greenland often fly both flags side-by-side.
How the Flag Was Chosen
Greenland first started thinking about having its own flag in 1973. At that time, five Greenlanders suggested a flag with green, white, and blue colors. The next year, a newspaper showed eleven different flag ideas. Most of these ideas were "Nordic Cross" designs, like the flags of other Nordic countries. The newspaper asked people to vote for their favorite design, but the Danish flag (Dannebrog) was still more popular than any of the new ideas. So, nothing much happened then.
In 1978, Denmark gave Greenland "home rule." This meant Greenland could make more of its own decisions and became an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. The new home rule government asked for new flag ideas. They received 555 designs! A lot of these ideas, 293 of them, came from people living in Greenland.
Out of all the designs, the red-and-white flag by Thue Christiansen was chosen. It won by a close vote of fourteen to eleven against a green-and-white Nordic cross design. Christiansen's red-and-white flag became the official flag on June 21, 1985.
What the Flag's Colors Mean
To celebrate the flag's tenth birthday, the Greenland Post Office made special stamps and a small book. The flag's designer, Thue Christiansen, explained what the different parts of the flag mean.
He said that the white stripe at the top stands for the glaciers and the huge ice cap that covers much of Greenland. The red stripe at the bottom represents the ocean that surrounds the country. The red half of the circle stands for the deep inlets of the sea called fjords. The white half of the circle represents the icebergs and the floating pack ice in the water.
The design also looks a bit like the setting sun dipping below the horizon, with its reflection on the sea.
Images for kids
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The flag of Greenland painted on an apartment building.
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Schoolchildren in Upernavik holding flags.
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This shows how the flag of Greenland is put together.
See also
In Spanish: Bandera de Groenlandia para niños
