This is the state flag of Louisiana:
It is not a good flag. Not the least of which because it does not even have the instantly recognizable symbol of Louisiana, the fleur de lis. Given that the fleur de lis represents French Louisiana and not the entirety of Louisiana, it’s forgivable that the flag is not just that, but stylistically that would be a nice looking flag. Better than the pelican, anyway. But it’s just the pelican. The state bird. Feeding its children. Heartwarming, I guess, but most states would kill for a symbol like the fleur de lis to put on their flag.
What’s really weird is that it’s not like Louisiana can’t do flags. New Orleans has a flag that’s okay. And Acadiana, a region of Louisiana, has a flag that is darn near perfect:
The kicker is that the Acadiana flag was designed before the state flag of Louisiana. Sort of. A variation of the pelican flag was in use since the Civil War, but they updated the design in 1912, 1991, 2006, and 2010. So it’s not like they just haven’t gotten around to doing anything about the mediocre flag. They have just stubbornly refused to actually change it into something worthwhile.
A good flag is one that you see everywhere. Maryland isn’t exactly a jingoistic state, but they do love their flag. Washington DC has the pride of the slighted, and use their flag liberally. Texas gave itself a nickname based on its flag. Alaska and New Mexico used their great flags liberally.
I have spent a fair amount of time in RL Louisiana, and I never see their flag anywhere. I see the Acadiana flag a lot more often. That’s an indication that their flag is better than the state flag! That is what a flag is supposed to be.
{This post was originally published at Hit Coffee}
http://www.joshparsons.net/flags/intro.html
Which is great fun and relatively fair in my opinion.
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In medieval Europe, the pelican was thought to be particularly attentive to her young, to the point of providing her own blood by wounding her own breast when no other food was available. As a result, the pelican came to symbolise the Passion of Jesus and the Eucharist, and usurped the image of the lamb and the flag. A reference to this mythical characteristic is contained for example in the hymn by Saint Thomas Aquinas, “Adoro te devote” or “Humbly We Adore Thee”, where in the penultimate verse he describes Christ as the “loving divine pelican, able to provide nourishment from his breast”.Elizabeth I of England adopted the symbol, portraying herself as the “mother of the Church of England”. Do observe that the Louisiana pelican is indeed feeding its blood to its young.
So it’s not that they just put the state bird in the flag and that was all. Louisiana’s flag claims that the state is the mother of its peoples.
As an aside, it used to be in the past that [cultured] people were able to understand all kinds of symbolisms in altar paintings, flags, portraits, and even flowers. It’s a pity that we have lost that sensibility.
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That’s way more than you wanted to have laid down with your observation, I know; point being, I’m sure mom would have known this about the pelican although if she ever told me my mind was probably still reeling from all the rest of what was on offer. It’s a good memory, and I thank you for rekindling it.
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Spain, who ruled Louisiana 1762-1802
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The significance of the Pelican is interesting, though not sufficient to overturn my opinion of the flag as a whole. Could be incorporated into a better flag, though.
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— Dixon Lanier Merritt
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It’s Italian in origin.
It comes from the Medici’s.
Recommended viewing. A fairly accurate representation.
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I must in the same breath admit that I’m a bit horrified at what a redesign of the California flag might be, especially if consigned to a committee of some sort. This would have made for a wonderful photoshop contest back in the glory days of FARK.com.
There’s also some states that do well with their shapes as seen on maps. Texas most prominently, but Louisiana, Florida, California, Alaska, and Wisconsin (that I can think of) all have distinctive map shapes that seem to wind up prominently featured on clothing, product advertisements, and a variety of other regalia.
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