Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

It was Christmas yesterday and because the timing just lined up too well, this week we'll be looking at two Aussie flags that need no fixing, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands:

This is the flag of Christmas Island, an Australian territory that lies just to the south-west of Java.  It has a small population (1,400), but an awesome flag.  This one has it all in my book: a map, a representative (but stylized) animal, and clear colors.  The Southern Cross clearly links the territory to Australia, but it even mixes it up by placing the constellation on the left, rather than the right.  I really love this flag, and wouldn't change a thing (well, I might remove the little eye-spot on the bird, it seems kind of fussy).

Not too far from Christmas Island, you can find Australia's other Indian Ocean territory, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands:

This flag also uses the Southern Cross, but by changing the color scheme, it makes it more interesting.  The crescent speaks to fact that the majority of the population (of about 600) is Muslim.  I also love this flag.  It takes a familiar Australian symbol and uses it in an unique way.  The palm tree could be simplified a little, but that is a minor quibble with what is otherwise a great flag. 

Why is it that the Australian territories are so much better at flags than the actual states?  If anyone has any thoughts on this, I'm all ears.

Arizona, Colorado, D.C., and Tennessee

In honor of procrastination, this week we'll look at a few more flags that I don't think need any help.

1) Arizona:

Bright primary colors and a great use of copper.  If I have to make a critique, it's that the top half of the star is a little indistinct because of the surrounding lines, but that's the worst I've got so Arizona needs to make no apologies.  Just make sure you have your papers if you visit.

2) Colorado:

The most common complaint I've heard about this flag is it looks a little too much like a corporate logo.  I understand the sentiment, but don't share it.  Only corporations are allowed to used stylized letters?  That doesn't seem fair.  I love this flag.

3) Washington, D.C.:

Great history and far and away the best flag of the "Other" category of state flags (I like American Samoa too, but their eagle is pretty busy). This flag is the coat of arms of George Washington, first president, most famous man with false teeth, married a rich, attractive, young widow (those later portraits don't do Martha justice), first in war, first in peace, etc.  It ties in the history of the District with two parallel lines and three stars, hard to top that.

4) Tennessee:

The stars in the center can look a little jumbled, but they're really just rotating around a central point.  They also each represent one of the Grand Divisions of the state (East, West, and Middle).  But my favorite part of this flag is the blue stripe on the right.  When asked about the stripes symbolism, the designer, Colonel LeRoy Reeves said, "The final blue bar relieves the sameness of the crimson field and prevents the flag from showing too much crimson when hanging limp."  Did you get that?  The stripe is there just because.  Not sure why, but I really like that.

Quebec and New Flag for Prince Edward Island

First off, Quebec:

This flag has a lot going for it; only two well contrasted colors, a basic design, and symbols that perfectly represent the province.  The fleurs-de-lis on this flag are free from too much detail and it is difficult to see another province (or state even) laying claim to them the way Quebec can (maybe Louisiana).  Plus, and this is a big one for me, Quebec's flag shares its template with the flag of Martinique, a French island in the Caribbean that uses coiled snakes instead of the fleurs-de-lis:

Too bad they aren't fully independent or they would shoot to the top of the flag rankings.

Prince Edward Island's flag is a tough nut to crack:

On the one hand, there are a number of things that can be criticized, most notably the detail given to the lion and trees.  On the other hand though, I really like this flag, British lion and all.  Maybe it's because it has a sense of self deprecation (We're so small, we can only fit four trees in the whole province!) or maybe it's the alternating red and white along the border.  Whatever it is, my fix for this flag is a bit of a cop out:

As with others in my Canadian series, I've removed the lion.  This flag is quite similar to the changes I made to New Brunswick's flag, with the notable exception of some changes to the background.  The blue is meant to be the sea, nothing more, and while the trees should be simplified, the detail they provide is not wholly unwelcome (in this one instance).  The three saplings contrast nicely with the mature tree bearing acorns, and whatever the symbolism, I just think it looks good.  Plus the blue accentuates the border, separating it from the numerous flags which add a fringe in an attempt to class-up their flags (or whatever that's for, I don't know).

Two more provinces down, two to go.

Alaska, New Mexico, Texas, and South Carolina

Let's bang a couple of these out.

1) Alaska
Yeah, it's blue and that's not real original, but this is an excellent flag that gets the blue right.  It is the deep blue of the sky, the sort of color where you would expect to see the stars.  The North Star is great for the most northern of all the states.  Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) shows the way to find the North Star and symbolizes the bear, yet another symbol of Alaska.  It also has a great back story, having been designed by a 13 year old Aleut boy back in the 1920's.  Excellent job Alaska, A+:

2) New Mexico

Another simple design with a lot of meaning and an eye-catching color scheme.  The symbol of the sun is taken from the Zia Pueblo, a native community, while the colors are taken from the Spanish who ruled the area for centuries.  It's no surprise it was voted #1 in the 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association and was the winner of the March Madness competition over at Vexillophilia:

3) Texas

Hard to argue with one of the most iconic flags.  It's on shirts, hats, belt buckles, cookie jars, bumper stickers, and on and on.  It has got to be one the most ubiquitous flags, and for good reason.  It's got historical connections, recalling the Texas Republic and Texas' nickname, the "Lone Star State," with its, um, single star.  Don't mess with success, or Texas:

4) South Carolina

One of the few other flags that is worthy of keeping the blue background, South Carolina's is historical, simple, and iconic.  The flag may have a bit too much detail in the center, but if a kid draws a white palm tree (yes, I know it's a palmetto, I'm being vague on purpose) with a crescent moon and colors it blue, there's no question which flag they're thinking about.  Now all we need to do is convince them to stick to this flag and the national one on their buildings:

Maryland

Every once in a while, I'll profile a flag that needs no help.  Today's is one of those:

It's pretty busy, it would be hard to stitch together by a budding Betsy Ross, but it looks so cool.  The color scheme, the heraldry, even taken by themselves, the different quadrants would make good flags.  An example of this is the flag of the City of Baltimore:



I'm not a fan of the seal in the middle, but it's simpler than most.  Another example is the "Crossland Banner," supposedly used by Marylanders who supported seceding from the Union in the Civil War:

It's just a good looking flag all around.  It's no surprise it was voted #4 of all the flags of the US states and Canadian provinces in a 2001 survey by the North American Vexillological Association.