Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Kevin Hultgren asks, Why do all the Scandinavian flags have the same design? Finnish names seem to have different conventions than do Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish. Might that have something to do with the Vikings?

As for the language, Finnish is a completely different beast from all the other languages in Nordic countries. Finland is basically the difference between Nordic countries and Scandinavian countries. Finland is not a Scandinavian country because Finnish is not a Scandinavian language.

You are correct that all five of the Nordic Countries have very similar flags. They all have what is known as a Nordic or Scandanavian Cross. It all started with the Danes. The oldest of the flags is the flag of Denmark which dates back to the year 1219. It is considered to be the oldest flag in the world.

The Danes were the most powerful country in the region for centuries. They ruled Norway, and Norway eventually adopted a flag based on the Danish flag, save for a blue cross in the middle of the white cross.

The Danes also controlled Iceland, and when Iceland became independent in 1918, they adopted a flag based on the Danish flag. Actually, it is simply the Norwegian flag with the red and blue colors switched.

Sweden was controlled by Norway and adopted the current flag in the early 20th century, again based on the same design but with the Swedish national colors.

Finland selected their flag from a contest in 1917, and the design was selected happened to be similar to other countries in the region.