0161 Luxembourg Flag of country FOTW100

Sent : 10.08.2016 (?)

Received 12.08.2016

Travel time (?)

Sender Anne Hippe , a friend from Luxembourg.

Get yours here: http://postcardsmarket.com/product/luxembourg-fw/

Wiki:

The flag of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerger Fändel, German: Flagge Luxemburgs, French: Drapeau du Luxembourg) consists of three horizontal stripes, red, white and blue, and can be in 1:2 or 3:5 ratio. It was first used between 1845 and 1848 and officially adopted on 23 June 1972.

Luxembourg had no flag until 1830, when patriots were urged to display the national colors. The flag was defined as a horizontal tricolor of red, white, and blue in 1848, but it was not officially adopted until 1972. The tricolor flag is almost identical to Flag of the Netherlands, except that it is longer and its blue stripe and red stripe are a lighter shade. The red, white, and blue colors were derived from the coat of arms of the House of Luxembourg.

0160 Lithuania Flag of country FOTW99

Sent: 14.02.2017

Received: 17.02.2017

Travel time 3 days

Sender - myself, from a business meeting in Vilnius (Lithuania = Lietuva) 

Get yours here: http://postcardsmarket.com/product/lithuania-fw/

Wiki:

The flag of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuvos vėliava) consists of a horizontal tricolor of yellow, green, and red. It was adopted on 25 April 1918 during Lithuania's first period of independence (in the 20th century) from 1918 to 1940, which ceased with the occupation first by Soviet Russia and Lithuania's annexation into the Soviet Union, and then by Nazi Germany (1941–1944). During the post-World War II Soviet occupation, from 1945 until 1989, the Soviet Lithuanian flag consisted first of a generic red Soviet flag with the name of the republic, then changed to the red flag with white and green bars at the bottom.

The flag was then re-adopted on 20 March 1989, almost a year before the re-establishment of Lithuania's independence and almost three years before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The last alteration to the current flag occurred in 2004, when the aspect ratio changed from 1:2 to 3:5.

0159 Liechtenstein Flag of country FOTW98

Sent 29.07.2016

Received 03.08.2016

Travel time 5 days

Sender Rosmarie (from Switzerland) - sent from Vaduz, capital of Liechtenstein.

Get yours here: http://postcardsmarket.com/product/liechtenstein-fw/

Wiki:

The flag of Liechtenstein (German: Flagge Liechtensteins) consists of two horizontal blue and red bands charged with a gold crown at the canton. Adopted in 1921 after being officially enshrined into the nation's constitution, it has been the flag of the Principality of Liechtenstein since that year. The crown was added to the flag in 1937 after the country found out at the Summer Olympics held the previous year that their flag was identical to the flag of Haiti.

0158 Lebanon Flag of country FOTW97

Sent 25 Nov. 2017

Received 07 Dec. 2017

Travel time 12 days

Sent by Daniela, a friend from Romania, established in Lebanon.

Get yours here: http://postcardsmarket.com/product/lebanon-fw/

Wiki:

The flag of Lebanon (Arabic: علم لبنان‎) is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is twice the height (width) of the red ones (ratio 1:2:1)—a Spanish fess. The green cedar (Lebanon Cedar) in the middle touches each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag.

0157 Latvia Flag of country FOTW96

Sent 28.08.2017

Received 02.10.2017

Travel time 35 days

Sent by me via a colleague, in August 2017.

Get yours here: http://postcardsmarket.com/product/latvia-fw/

Wiki: 

The national flag of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas karogs) was used by independent Latvia from 1918 until the country was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Its use was suppressed during Soviet rule. Shortly before regaining its independence, Latvia re-adopted on 27 February 1990 the same red-white-red flag.

Though officially adopted in 1923, the Latvian flag was in use as early as the 13th century. The red color is sometimes described as symbolizing the readiness of the Latvians to give the blood from their hearts for freedom and their willingness to defend their liberty. An alternative interpretation, according to one legend, is that a Latvian leader was wounded in battle, and the edges of the white sheet in which he was wrapped were stained by his blood. The white stripe may stand for the sheet that wrapped him.

Post Office in Male, Maldives

Post office in Male, Maldives, photo made in 2018, December 23, and sent to me by my friend Carlos Armendariz (from Mexico) - from his travel in Maldives.

www.maldivespost.com/

Maldives Post Limited is a 100% government owned company with a network of 14 Atoll Post offices and 170 agency post offices across the nation providing access to postal service in all inhibited islands.

Since the establishment of postal service in the country, over the course of 109 years of service, postal services witnessed different phases of development. Postal services have played a vital role as a basic communication medium in the country for many years. Today, Maldives Post Limited plays the role of National Postal Operator in the country as mandated by the Postal Law. The company operates in a competitive market facing great many challenges owing to the rapid changes being taken place in the communication market. This is mainly due to technological advancements and improvement in mobile communication. Maldives Post Limited is a privileged member of Universal Postal Union (UPU) since 1967 and is also a member of Asia Pacific Postal Union (APPU).

Maldives Post intend to provide customers innovative solutions through structural and operational enhancements based on our expertise and experience in managing complex postal networks. Maldives Post is indeed very keen on utilizing the latest technologies related to the product line to increase convenience.

Mail represents the core business for Maldives Post. Apart from the traditional mail services rendered, Maldives Post is widely engaged in the provision of financial services and other agency services. Much of our focus has been on improving and expanding the portfolio of our products and services in line with the changing needs of customers so as to form a platform for future growth.

0156 Kyrgyzstan Flag of country FOTW95

Sent 08.08.2017
Received 02.10.2017
Travel time: 55 days - Kyrgyz Express Post

Sender Dragos Diaconu - Romania

Get yours here : http://postcardsmarket.com/product/kyrgyzstan-fw/

Sent: 18.08.2017

Received 02.10.2017

Travel time: 45 days -  Kyrgyz Express Post

Sender Lissa AK.

The flag of Kyrgyzstan consists of a red field charged with a yellow sun that contains a depiction of a yurt (traditional tent). It is actually a depiction of the first thing one sees when waking up in a yurt, namely the construction of the pinnacle of every Kyrgyz yurt with three crisscrossing laths across the circular opening at the top of the yurt. Adopted in 1992, just over seven months after the country's independence was declared, to replace the flag of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR), it has been the flag of the Kyrgyz Republic since that year.

Kyrgyz Express Post LLC (KEP) has been operating in the postal market of Kyrgyzstan since 16 March 2012 under the unlimited license no. 16-0028-КR granted on 19.08.16 by the State Communication Agency of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, providing a wide range of postal, financial and other services both to individuals and legal entities.

0155 Kosovo Flag of country FOTW94

Sent 11.05.2017

Received 17.05.2017

Travel time 6 days

Sender Durim from Albania. Thank you!

http://postcardsmarket.com/product/kosovo-fw/

Sent 30.11.2016
Received 9.12.2016
Travel time: 11 days

Sender Ali - Kosovo

The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of Kosovo immediately following the declaration of independence of Kosovo from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The flag is the result of an international design competition, organized by the United Nations-backed Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The now-used design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups. 

Before the declaration of independence, Kosovo was under the administration of the United Nations and used the UN flag for official purposes. The Serbian and Albanian populations had used their own national flags since the Socialist Yugoslavia period. The Serbs use a red, blue and white tricolor, which forms the basis of the current flag of Serbia. The Albanian population have used the flag of Albania since the 1960s as their nationality flag. Both flags can still be seen and used within Kosovo.

0154 Russian Lighthouse sketch card

Sent: 09.03.2018

Received 21.03.2018

Travel time: 12 days

Sender Anna from Monino, Moskovskaya oblast via postcrossing.com

0153 South Korea Flag of country FOTW93

Sent: 21.06.2017

Received: 03.07.2017

Travel time: 13 days

Sender: Daniel Eastwood from South Korea

Get yours here: http://postcardsmarket.com/product/south-korea-fw/

The flag of the Republic of Korea, also known as the Taegukgi (also spelled as Taegeukgi, literally "supreme ultimate flag"), has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue Taeguk, symbolizing balance, in its center, and four black trigrams selected from the original eight, one toward each corner.

The flag's background is white, a traditional color in Korean culture. White was common in the daily attire of 19th-century Koreans, and it still appears in contemporary versions of traditional Korean garments, such as the hanbok. The color represents peace and purity. 

0152 Prague Meeting postcrossing card

Card sent by me from Postcrossing Meetup in Prague 4 November 2016

0151 Kazakhstan Flag of country FOTW92

Sent: 30.06.2017

Received 07.07.2017

Travel time: 7 days

Sender Assel from Kazachstan.

Get yours here : http://postcardsmarket.com/product/kazakhstan-fw/

The national flag of the Republic of Kazakhstan has a gold sun with 32 rays above a soaring golden steppe eagle, both centered on a sky blue background; the hoist side displays a national ornamental pattern "koshkar-muiz" (the horns of the ram) in gold; the blue color is of religious significance to the Turkic peoples of the country, and so symbolizes cultural and ethnic unity; it also represents the endless sky as well as water; the sun, a source of life and energy, exemplifies wealth and plenitude; the sun's rays are shaped like grain, which is the basis of abundance and prosperity; the eagle has appeared on the flags of Kazakh tribes for centuries and represents freedom, power, and the flight to the future. The width of the flag to its length is 1:2

0150 Jersey Flag FOTW91

Sent: 22.03.2017

Received 27.03.2017

Travel time - 5 days

Sender Hellen Beeby from UK.

Get yours here : http://postcardsmarket.com/product/jersey-fw/

The flag of Jersey is composed of a red saltire on a white field. In the upper quadrant the badge of Jersey surmounted by a yellow "Plantagenet crown". The flag was adopted by the States of Jersey on 12 June 1979, proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth on 10 December 1980 and first officially hoisted on 7 April 1981.

0149 Japan Flag of country FOTW90

Sent: 10.01.2017

Received 19.01.2017

Travel time: 9 days

Sender : Masayo Nishimura from Gero - Town famous for "Hot Springs"

http://postcardsmarket.com/product/japan-fw/

Wiki:

The national flag of Japan is a rectangular white banner bearing a crimson-red disc at its center. This flag is officially called Nisshōki (日章旗, the "sun-mark flag"), but is more commonly known in Japan as Hi no maru (日の丸, the "circle of the sun"). It embodies the country's sobriquet: Land of the Rising Sun.

The Nisshōki flag is designated as the national flag in the Law Regarding the National Flag and National Anthem, which was promulgated and became effective on August 13, 1999. Although no earlier legislation had specified a national flag, the sun-disc flag had already become the de facto national flag of Japan. Two proclamations issued in 1870 by the Daijō-kan, the governmental body of the early Meiji period, each had a provision for a design of the national flag. A sun-disc flag was adopted as the national flag for merchant ships under Proclamation No. 57 of Meiji 3 (issued on February 27, 1870), and as the national flag used by the Navy under Proclamation No. 651 of Meiji 3 (issued on October 27, 1870). Use of the Hi no maru was severely restricted during the early years of the Allied occupation of Japan after World War II; these restrictions were later relaxed.

The sun plays an important role in Japanese mythology and religion as the Emperor is said to be the direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the legitimacy of the ruling house rested on this divine appointment and descent from the chief deity of the predominant Shinto religion. The name of the country as well as the design of the flag reflect this central importance of the sun. The ancient history Shoku Nihongi says that Emperor Monmu used a flag representing the sun in his court in 701, and this is the first recorded use of a sun-motif flag in Japan. The oldest existing flag is preserved in Unpō-ji temple, Kōshū, Yamanashi, which is older than the 16th century, and an ancient legend says that the flag was given to the temple by Emperor Go-Reizei in the 11th century. During the Meiji Restoration, both the sun disc and the Rising Sun Ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy became major symbols in the emerging Japanese Empire. Propaganda posters, textbooks, and films depicted the flag as a source of pride and patriotism. In Japanese homes, citizens were required to display the flag during national holidays, celebrations and other occasions as decreed by the government. Different tokens of devotion to Japan and its Emperor featuring the Hi no maru motif became popular during the Second Sino-Japanese War and other conflicts. These tokens ranged from slogans written on the flag to clothing items and dishes that resembled the flag.

0148 Israel Flag of country FOTW89

Send: 19.02.2017
Received 27.02.2017
Travel time: 8 days

Sender Irina from Israel.

http://postcardsmarket.com/israel

The flag of Israel (Hebrew: דגל ישראל‎ Degel Yisra'el; Arabic: علم إسرائيل‎ ʿAlam Israʼīl) was adopted on 28 October 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes.

The blue color is described as "dark sky-blue", and varies from flag to flag, ranging from a hue of pure blue, sometimes shaded almost as dark as navy blue, to hues about 75% toward pure cyan and shades as light as very light blue. The flag was designed for the Zionist Movement in 1891. The basic design recalls the Tallit (טַלִּית‎), the Jewish prayer shawl, which is white with black or blue stripes. The symbol in the center represents the Star of David (Magen David, מָגֵן דָּוִד), a Jewish symbol dating from late medieval Prague, which was adopted by the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

In 2007, an Israeli flag measuring 660 m × 100 m (2,170 ft × 330 ft) and weighing 5.2 tons (5.7 short tons) was unfurled near the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada, breaking the world record for the largest flag.

0147 Ireland Flag of country FOTW88

Sent: -

Received: 14.03.2017

Travel time - 

Sender Lea from Ireland

http://postcardsmarket.com/product/ireland-fw/

The national flag of Ireland (Irish: bratach na hÉireann) – frequently referred to as the Irish tricolor (trídhathach na hÉireann) – is the national flag and ensign of the Republic of Ireland. The flag itself is a vertical tricolor of green (at the hoist), white and orange.

The proportions of the flag are 1:2 (that is to say, flown horizontally, the flag is half as high as it is wide). Presented as a gift in 1848 to Thomas Francis Meagher from a small group of French women sympathetic to the Irish cause, it was intended to symbolize the inclusion and hoped-for union between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the significance of the colors outlined by Meagher was, “The white in the center signifies a lasting truce between Orange and Green and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.”

It was not until the Easter Rising of 1916, when it was raised above Dublin's General Post Office by Gearóid O'Sullivan, that the tricolor came to be regarded as the national flag. The flag was adopted by the Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921). The flag's use was continued by the Irish Free State (1922–1937) and it was later given constitutional status under the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. The tricolor is used by nationalists on both sides of the border as the national flag of the whole island of Ireland since 1916. Thus it is flown by many nationalists in Northern Ireland as well as by the Gaelic Athletic Association.

0146 Italy Flag of country FOTW87

Sent: 07.07.2016

Received 19.07.2016

Travel time 12 days

Sender Myself from Imola, during my trip in Italy

http://postcardsmarket.com/product/italy-fw/

The flag of Italy (bandiera d'Italia, often referred to in Italian as il Tricolore; Italian: [il trikoˈloːre]) is a tricolour featuring three equally-sized vertical pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side. Its current form has been in use since 18 June 1946 and was formally adopted on 1 January 1948.

The first entity to use the Italian tricolour was the Cisalpine Republic in 1797, which supplanted Milan after Napoleon's victorious army crossed Italy in 1796. The colours chosen by the Cispadane Republic were red and white, which were the colours of the recently conquered flag of Milan; and green, which was the colour of the uniform of the Milanese civic guard. During this time, many small French-proxy republics of Jacobin inspiration supplanted the ancient absolute Italian states and almost all, with variants of colour, used flags characterised by three bands of equal size, clearly inspired by the French model of 1790.

Some have attributed particular values to the colours, and a common interpretation is that the green represents the country's plains and the hills; white, the snow-capped Alps; and red, blood spilt in the Wars of Italian Independence and Unification. A more religious interpretation is that the green represents hope, the white represents faith, and the red represents charity; this references the three theological virtues.

0145 Ireland Flag of country FOTW86

Sent: - 

Received: 24.03.2017

Sender: Lea from Dublin, Ireland

http://postcardsmarket.com/product/ireland-fw/

The national flag of Ireland (Irish: bratach na hÉireann) – frequently referred to as the Irish tricolour (trídhathach na hÉireann) – is the national flag and ensign of the Republic of Ireland. The flag itself is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange.

The proportions of the flag are 1:2 (that is to say, flown horizontally, the flag is half as high as it is wide). Presented as a gift in 1848 to Thomas Francis Meagher from a small group of French women sympathetic to the Irish cause, it was intended to symbolise the inclusion and hoped-for union between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the significance of the colours outlined by Meagher was, “The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between Orange and Green and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of Irish Protestants and Irish Catholics may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.”

It was not until the Easter Rising of 1916, when it was raised above Dublin's General Post Office by Gearóid O'Sullivan, that the tricolour came to be regarded as the national flag. The flag was adopted by the Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921). The flag's use was continued by the Irish Free State (1922–1937) and it was later given constitutional status under the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. The tricolour is used by nationalists on both sides of the border as the national flag of the whole island of Ireland since 1916. Thus it is flown by many nationalists in Northern Ireland as well as by the Gaelic Athletic Association.

0144 India Flag of country FOTW85

Sent: 07.06.2017
Received: 19.06.2017
Travel time 12 days

http://postcardsmarket.com/product/india-fw/

The National Flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of India saffron, white and India green; with the Ashoka Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, and it became the official flag of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolour" (Hindi: तिरंगा, translit. Tiraṅgā) almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.[N 1]

By law, the flag is to be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun cloth or silk, made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The right to manufacture the flag is held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, who allocates it to regional groups. As of 2009, the Karnataka Khadi Gramodyoga Samyukta Sangha has been the sole manufacturer of the flag.

Usage of the flag is governed by the Flag Code of India and other laws relating to the national emblems. The original code prohibited use of the flag by private citizens except on national days such as the Independence day and the Republic Day. In 2002, on hearing an appeal from a private citizen, Naveen Jindal, the Supreme Court of India directed the Government of India to amend the code to allow flag usage by private citizens. Subsequently, the Union Cabinet of India amended the code to allow limited usage. The code was amended once more in 2005 to allow some additional use including adaptations on certain forms of clothing. The flag code also governs the protocol of flying the flag and its use in conjunction with other national and non-national flags.