Published January 2004, updated May 2009

The flag with "the blue of our lakes and the white snow of our winters", as a poet described these symbolic colours in 1870, was made official in a law enacted on May 29, 1918, less than six months after Finland had achieved independence.
The Finnish flag features a blue cross on a white background. It takes two forms, the national (civil) flag and the state flag.


The national flag is rectangular in shape and its dimensions are: height l l and width 18 units of measurement; width of cross 3 units, colour PMS294C; height of fields 4 units, length of fields at the hoist 5 units and of fields at the fly 10 units. Every Finnish citizen enjoys the right to fly the national flag. With certain exceptions, the national flag is flown by Finnish vessels as their national ensign.

The state flag is either rectangular or threepointed. The coat of arms of Finland is inset in the square formed by the intersecting arms of the cross. The square has a yellow border, the width of which is onefortieth of the width of the cross. State departments and establishments fly the rectangular state flag. The Defence Forces use the threepointed version of the flag, which is one unit of measurement longer than the national flag or the rectangular state flag. The President of the Republic uses a threepointed version of the state flag, in the canton of which a blue and yellow Cross of Freedom is featured.
| Finnish official flag-raising days in 2009 | ||
| Thursday | February 5 | National Poet Runeberg's Day |
| Friday | February 6 | Sámi National Day |
| Saturday | February 28 | Kalevala Day (in honour of the national epic; Finnish Culture Day) |
| Thursday | March 19 | Minna Canth Day (Equality Day) |
| Thursday | April 9 | Finnish Language Day |
| Monday | April 27 | Veterans' Day |
| Friday | May 1 | Labour Day |
| Sunday | May 10 | Mothers' Day |
| Tuesday | May 12 | Snellman Day (Finnish Heritage Day) |
| Sunday | May 17 | Remembrance Day |
| Thursday | June 4 | Flag Day of Defence Forces |
| Saturday | June 20 | Midsummer Day |
| Monday | July 6 | Eino Leino Day (Summer and Poetry Day) |
| Sunday | August 9 | International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples |
| Saturday | October 10 | Alexis Kivi Day (Finnish Literature Day) |
| Saturday | October 24 | United Nations Day |
| Friday | November 6 | Finland-Swedish Heritage Day |
| Sunday | November 8 | Fathers' Day |
| Sunday | December 6 | Independence Day |
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