Story About a Flag
Danes take great pride in their national flag, and display it not only on flagpoles in their gardens, but as little paper flags used to decorate everything from canapeALs to envelopes. The flag business is a thriving one in Denmark, not least around the celebration known as Valdemars Day, June 15, when legend has it that the Dannebrog, as the flag is called, made its dramatic first appearance in the year 1219, making it the world's oldest flag still in use.
That event was a battle between the Danish army, led by King Valdemar, and the forces from the Russian steppes, taking place in Estonia on the Baltic Sea. Legend describes the battle as going badly for the Danes, when a prayer was offered to God by Bishop Absalon, who was with the army, to provide a token of support for them. Soon, a red cloth sectioned by a white cross fell from the heavens, giving the Danes the moral courage to prevail in the battle.
Whether true or not, it makes for a great story, and the reverence for the flag becomes the more appropriate as a result. The simplicity of the design has been used in all the flags of the Nordic countries with different colors. The flag of Norway, which for a long period belonged to Denmark, merely added a blue cross within the white one on the same red field, perhaps as a token of their former relationship. Sweden's has a yellow cross on a blue field, Finland's a blue cross on a white field, and Iceland's a red and white cross on a blue field.
Even today in these islands, which almost a hundred years ago were known as the Danish West Indies, we still find the Dannebrog on display in quite a few locations, to the great delight of the numerous Danish visitors. We find it even in the Great Seal of the U.S. Virgin Islands, an astounding testimony to the continued recognition of Denmark's contribution to our heritage. It bespeaks the tolerance and acceptance of our population of the cultural mix that typifies in particular St. Croix, where the flags of seven nations (in the case of the Knights of Malta, a religious order) since 1493 have at their respective time been the official banner. Perhaps it is appropriate that the Dannebrog stands out, seeing it was flown here longer than any of the others.
