Half-staff facts for kids

A flag of New Zealand at half-staff

Half-staff or half-mast describes a flag being displayed at halfway up a flagpole or a ship's mast. This is done in many countries as a symbol of respect, mourning, or distress, or a form of honor.

The flag does not always have to be flown at exactly the half-way point, sometimes it is acceptable to have the "half-mast" flag at slightly lower or slightly higher than the middle of the flagpole or mast. Originally, "half-staff" meant that the flag had to be flown one flag-width from the top to allow for the "invisible flag of mourning" to be at the top.

Images for kids

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  The Finnish flag flying at half-mast after the 2011 Norway attacks

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  The American flag flying at half-mast in Buchenwald, Thuringia, Germany, on 19 April 1945 after the death of US President Franklin Roosevelt

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  The Australian White Ensign flying at half-mast. In accordance with British tradition, the flag is flying only one flag's width below the top of the pole.

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  The flag of Canada at half-mast, following the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 2021

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  Black ribbons indicate mourning on banners that cannot be lowered to half-mast.

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  Hong Kong SAR flag flown at half mast

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  Flags in Israel at half mast on the eve of Yom HaShoah

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  Flag of Pahang is flown at half-mast at the Chin Swee Caves Temple as a mark of respect to the late Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang. The flag of Malaysia and Selangor are not at half-mast as a result of different mourning periods.

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  Flag at half-mast in Żebbuġ, Malta for Good Friday 2014

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  Two flags half-mast at the Martinitoren in Groningen, Netherlands

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  The flag of Saudi Arabia is never flown at half-mast.

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  Flags of Singapore outside The Fullerton Hotel Singapore are flown at half-mast to mark the death of Lee Kuan Yew.

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  ROC(Taiwan) national flag flown half mast at the Presidential Office Building

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  Thai national flag flown at half mast at Assumption College (Thailand) Bangkok during the mourning of the King Bhumibol

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  Turkish flags at half mast after the 2016 Atatürk Airport attack

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  Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga, Oxford, with the flag of the Holy See flying at half-mast the day after the death of Pope John Paul II

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  The Union Flag flying at half-mast, following the death of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, 2021

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  The flag at the Capitol Building flies at half-staff in honor of President Ronald Reagan, 2004

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  Vietnam flag at half-mast in General Vo Nguyen Giap's funeral

See also

In Spanish: Media asta para niños