features a blue cross on a white background. It
takes two forms, the national (civil) flag and the state flag. The national flag was made official in a
law enacted May 29, 1918, less than six months after
Finland gained its independence.
The national flag is rectangular in shape and its dimensions are: height 11 and width 18 units of measurement; width of cross 3 units; height of fields 4 units; length of fields at the hoist 5 units and of fields at the fly 10 units. Any Finnish citizen may fly the national flag, and it is the flag flown by Finnish vessels as their national ensign.
The state flag is either rectangular or
three-pointed. The coat of arms of
Finland is inset in the square formed by the intersecting
arms of the cross. The square has a yellow border, the
width of which is one-fortieth of the width of the cross.
State departments and establishments fly the rectangular
state flag. The Defense Forces use the three-pointed
version of the flag, which is one unit of measurement
longer than the national flag or the rectangular state
flag. The President uses a three-pointed version of the
state flag, in the canton of which a blue and yellow
Cross of Freedom is featured.
Finnish Official Flag-Raising Days in 2007
National Poet Runeberg's Day (February
5)
Saami National Day (February 6)
Kalevala, the Finnish National Epic Day (February 28)
Finnish Language Day (April 9)
Veterans' Day (April 27)
Labour Day (May 1)
Finnish Heritage Day (May 12)
Mothers' Day (May 15)
Remembrance Day (May 21)
Flag Day of Defense Forces (June 4)
Midsummer Day (June 23)
International Day of the World's Indigenous People
(August 9)
Finnish Literature Day (October 10)
United Nations Day (October 24)
Finnish Swedish Heritage Day (November 6)
Fathers' Day (November 11)
Independence Day of Finland (December 6)