The flag of Lebanon features a broad white stripe at its center and two narrow red stripes at the top and bottom. A cedar silhouette sits at the center of the white band. The cedar touches the upper and lower red stripes at the inner edges. The bands have a width ratio of 1:2:1 where the white part is twice the size of the red ones. Lebanon adopted the flag in 1943 after gaining its independence.
For a long time, Lebanon used different flags depending on the ruling power. This period was before they gained independence and adopted a national flag. Their flag history begins in the Phoenician era when the main flag in Lebanon during the period 3000 BC-200 AD, was a blue-red bicolor flag. The Tanūkh tribe took control and they adopted the Tanūkh tribe flag after 200 AD. It was a white-blue-yellow-red and green vertical banded flag. In 750, the Abbasid Caliphate took control and they started using a plain black flag. The Kingdom of Jerusalem took over some parts of Lebanon from 1099. Their flag was white with a center that featured a large gold cross with three smaller crosses.
The Banu Ma’an tribe took control of part of Lebanon in the years between 1119 and 1697. Their flag was a diagonal white-red bicolor flag that featured a laurel wreath. The Ayyubid Dynasty took some control in 1282, and the Lebanese adopted a plain yellow flag. From 1250, the Mamluk Sultanate took control and Lebanon flew an Egyptian yellow flag with a crescent moon facing left. They were followed by the Chehab Empire in 1967 who had a plain blue field flag with a crescent moon facing right. From 1516 to 1918, the Ottoman Empire took control, and their red field flag with a five-pointed star on the right and crescent moon on the right was used. After this, the Lebanese got a new flag that featured a green Lebanon Cedar tree at the center of a white field.
However, the French took control in 1920 and Naoum Mokarzel designed a Lebanese flag that looked similar to the French tricolor flag. The French had a blue, white, red vertical tricolor flag. The Lebanese one, however, had a green cedar in the middle. They also used two other flags: one with a brown stemmed cedar tree on the white stripe and one with a black cedar tree on the white stripe. Later, there was a national pact agreed upon that divided power among the Sunnite Muslims, the Christians and the Shīʿite Muslims. This pact led to the creation of a new national flag which maintained the cedar but got rid of the French tricolor. They made the stripes horizontal and were limited to white and red. These colors were historically associated with the Kayssites and the Yemenites clans, whose existence dated back a thousand years ago.
Lebanon gained its independence in 1943 and adopted a white field flag with two horizontal red stripes at the bottom and top. The white stripe featured a green cedar tree at the center. The flag was a design of Henri Pharaon, a member of parliament at the time. They adopted the flag on December 7th, 1943 in a parliamentary meeting where they modified Article 5 of the Lebanese constitution. Article 5 describes the rules of manufacture for the flag. It should have three horizontal stripes with the white between the red stripes. The width of the white stripe should be twice the size of the others. The flag should also have a cedar occupying the white stripe and touching the red bands from the inside.
Colour
White represents snow and is a symbol of peace and purity. The country has had to endure many invaders over time, and the two red stripes symbolize bloodshed during this time to preserve the country from invaders. The Mountains of Lebanon Cedar inspired the cedar tree. Cedars are a common tree in Lebanon and it features centrally on the flag. It symbolizes eternity, holiness, peace, and longevity. The cedar of Lebanon has original biblical references and appears seventy-seven times. Some of these references include:
French writer, poet, and politician, Alphonse de Lamartine marveled at the cedars during a visit with his daughter. He wrote that “the cedars know the history of the earth better than history itself.” Another poet who wrote about the cedars was Antoine de Saint Exupéry. He likened the cedars to peace in his poem the Citadel – “peace is a long growing tree. We need, as the cedar, to rock its unity.”
The cedar tree holds great significance in Lebanon. It’s their national emblem and a national symbol for Lebanon. The Lebanon Coat of Arms also features a cedar tree on a white bend that is between the red stripes running from the upper corner of the shield to the lower corner.
Shape
According to Article 5 of the Lebanese constitution, the flag of Lebanon should consist of three horizontal stripes, two red stripes at the top and bottom with a white stripe at the center. The width of the middle white stripe should be equal to that of both the red stripes. At the center, the green cedar tree should take up 1/3rd of the white stripe, with the top and base of the tree touching both red stripes at either end. The general ratio of the flag is 1:2:1.
Do you know any other interesting facts about the flag of Lebanon? Share your thoughts below.
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