18th of March: Flag Day, in Aruba.

Before we go any further, allow me to tell you a bit about Aruba.

• It is an island.
• It is only 21 miles (33km) long and has an overall land area of 75 sq mi (193 km²).
• It belongs to the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, 17 miles (27 km) north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela.
• Together with Bonaire and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.

Today (March 18th) is a public holiday in Aruba, known as Flag Day and it is celebrated through carnivals and fairs. It is on this day in 1976 that the flag was adopted.

I will now explain to you the meaning held in this distinctive flag.

• The blue field represents the sky, the sea, peace, hope, Aruba’s future and its ties to the past.
• The two narrow stripes “suggest the movement toward status aparte“. One represents “the flow of tourists to sun-drenched Aruba, enriching the island as well as vacationers”, the other “industry, all the minerals (gold and phosphates in the past, petroleum in the early 20th century)”. In addition to sun, gold, and abundance, the yellow is also said to represent wanglo flowers.

The star has particularly complex symbolism:

• It is vexillologically unusual in having four points, representing the four cardinal directions. These refer in turn to the many countries of origin of the people of Aruba. They also represent the four main languages of Aruba: Papiamento, Spanish, English, and Dutch.
• The star also represents the island itself: a land of often red soil bordered by white beaches in a blue sea.
• The red also represents blood shed by Arubans during war, past Indian inhabitants, patriotic love, and Brazil wood.
• The white also represents purity and honesty.

[Facts from Wikipedia.]

I really want to go there now.