In the spirit of thinking about warm, tropical places in the middle of January, I thought I'd go down to the South Pacific and check out the flag of Fiji. So get your party hats on if you get bored you can watch one of Fiji's many military coups- because this week, it's FIJI!
Adopted for national and civil usage on October 10th, 1970- once again, we find the Union Jack in the canton denoting the country's historical links to Great Britain. The blue represents what else? The Pacific Ocean. The arms on the flag are derived from the official coat of arms of Fiji, granted by Royal Warrant in 1908. The first quarter of the shield show sugar cane, the second a coconut palm, the third a dove of peace and the fourth a bunch of bananas. It's a white shield with a red cross and a red chief (the upper third of a shield for those of you that aren't up on your heraldry.) On this chief, we find a British lion holding a coconut between its paws.
Fiji has a population of 849,000 and since independence in 1970 has suffered through a Constitutional Crisis in 1977 and four military coup d'etats. (2 in 1987, which made Fiji a Republic, 1 in 2000 and 1 in 2006.) Feel free to add this knowledge to any useless trivia you might keep around for parties and trivia nights at the local bar and when it wins you that extra round of beer- remember Fiji and smile!
Until next time, keep your flags frying- FREAK or otherwise!
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