The Flag of Finland harkens back to the beginning of the 20th century, and is modelled on the Danish flag, the Dannebrog.

The symbolic colours of Finland are blue and white. Blue represents lakes and sky, and white respresents snow. The national flag of Finland (siniristilippu, a flag with blue cross) is rectangle-shaped. There is a blue cross on a white background. The state flag has a coat of arms in the center, but is otherwise the same.

The flag can't be dirty or broken. You can't write on it and it must not decorated. When the flag is washed, you must dehumidify it inside. The flag must respected and it's forbidden to bury it in the ground or use to other purpose.

• According to Finnish law, the dimensions of the flag are 11/18 (height/width), the blue crosses cusp width is 3 units of measure.

When flown from a flagpole, the flag is recommended to have a width equalling a fourth of the height of the pole.

The colours of the flag of Finland

PMS-colour system: Blue 294C, Red 186C, Yellow 123C

CMYK-tones:

• Blue C 100 %, M 56 %, Y 0 %, K 18,5 %
• Red C 0 %, M 91 %, Y 76 %, K 6 %
• Yellow C 0 %, M 30,5 %, Y 94 %, K 0 %

Red and yellow are being used in the State flag, that carries a coat of arms in the middle. The PMS-clours are specified in Government decision 827/93, see http://finlex4.edita.fi/dynaweb/stp/stp/1993sd/@ebt-link?showtoc=false;target=IDMATCH(id,19930827.sd)

See also: Flag days in Finland, Holidays in Finland, National anthem of Finland