Flag of Finland
A blue cross on a white field, with the vertical arm set towards the hoist. The state flag adds the coat of arms at the centre of the cross.
What the flag means
The colours have no official explanation. The usual one is that blue stands for Finland's lakes and sky, and white for the snow that covers the country in winter.
History
The blue cross on white was in use before independence. The Nyland Yacht Club, founded in Helsinki in 1861, flew it with the arms of Uusimaa in the corner. After independence in 1917, design proposals split between red-and-yellow and blue-and-white schemes. Akseli Gallen-Kallela's white cross on blue was rejected as too close to the flags of Sweden and Greece. Blue and white won, and the artists Eero Snellman and Bruno Tuukkanen drew the final form adopted in May 1918. The Flag Act of 1978 now governs it.
On Midsummer Eve the flag is raised at 6 pm and stays up through the night until 9 pm on Midsummer Day, which is also Flag Day.
Flags that look like this one
Denmark: white cross on red. Norway: blue cross with a white border on red. Iceland: red cross with a white border on blue. Sweden: yellow cross on blue. Finland: blue cross on white.
Flags of Finland's neighbours
Sources
- Wikipedia: Flag of Finland
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Read how we research flags in our editorial policy, or report a mistake.
