Today is the 138th anniversary of the 'sinimustvalge' Estonia's national flag. On this day we display our beautiful tri-colour flag with pride!
The origins of the Estonian flag date back to 1881 when the Estonian Students' Society in Tartu adopted blue, black and white as the colours of their fraternity. The flag achieved national importance at the beginning of the 20th century and in 1918 it became the flag of the Republic of Estonia. The first flag was consecrated in Otepää in 1884 and still exists today. During the Soviet occupation the original flag was hidden in a farmhouse chimney and is now at the National Museum of Estonia.
The Estonian flag is symbolic in nature. Blue represents the sky and loyalty to the homeland. Black refers to the soil and diligence. White means purity and hope for the future.
The flag of Estonia is unique with its rare colour combination. Whilst red is the most common colour found on many world flags, Estonia chose colours it culturally identifies with. The only other country in the world that uses blue, black and white on thier national flag is Botswana.
