The flag’s distinctive red, green, yellow and blue design was inspired by the Sami people’s relationship with the sun and moon.
Many cities and towns across Finland are raising the distinctive Sami red, green, yellow and blue flag on Tuesday to commemorate Sami National Day.
Although February 6 is not an official Flag Day, authorities in Finland, Sweden and Norway encourage the display of the national flag, as well as towns and municipalities outside the Sami region, as well as government offices and institutions. Examples are increasing.
This anniversary commemorates the first-ever Sami Congress held in 1917 in the Norwegian city of Trondheim.
the sun and the moon
The flag was officially adopted by the Sami people in 1986 after a Norwegian Sami artist won a design competition. astrid ball.
When Ball was designing the flag, he remembered that he was particularly interested in the special relationship the Sami people have with the sun and moon, and wanted to reflect that in the design.
“I heard that a long time ago, when the moon rose, it was the time to slaughter reindeer and gather hay, and it was a time for work that could not be done while the moon was waning. ‘I see, that’s true.’ I thought, ‘It’s perfect for the Sami people,”’ Baal explained.
The flag contains two asymmetrical rectangles with superimposed vertical lines passing through the circles, the red circle representing the sun and the blue circle representing the moon.
The flag Ball designed became well known as an important symbol of Sami identity.
“The design is appropriate for today’s times. This flag is special because it features indigenous colors and decorations,” Ball said, adding that he was pleased with the “very beautiful design.”
Sami bill underway
The Prime Minister said Sami identity and autonomy have been widely debated topics in Finland’s recent history. Peteri OlupoThe (NCP) government will be the fourth government to try to introduce the controversial Sami Parliament Act into parliament.
If passed, the bill would change the way the electoral register for Sami parliamentary elections is drawn up, potentially excluding some people currently on the electoral register, but the proposal has attracted criticism. ing.
Reforms faced difficulties along the way. Sanna MarinThere were concerns that this change would give the Sami Parliament too much power over land use within Sami territory, potentially affecting mining and wind power projects, so his term as prime minister would not affect land use rights. This is because there is a possibility of giving.
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