Costa Rica, the country with the most stable democracy on the continent, reveals important and undisclosed details about our beautiful and beloved national flag. The white, blue, and red colors have become an emblem that all of us, the “Ticos”, have tattooed in our soul. However, it was not always our flag design. Very few know the curiosities that it contains and what is behind the first flags that represented us not only within our country but also outside our borders.
It is propitious the opportunity to research and be able to inquire more about the first flag of Costa Rica. A flag that few people know and that leads many to wonder: Did it have any relation to the Jewish tradition? It is interesting to know each of the curiosities that exist within our beautiful country. And much more in relation to our symbols that fill us with pride and rejoicing, and for which we are also recognized beyond our borders.
A little bit of its history
The “Crown’s Jewel”, Costa Rica, through its history, has undergone a lot of changes. Of course, one of our patriotic symbols could not go beyond being perceived and has been a fundamental part of each of those changes. Our national flag, the most emblematic symbol of any country, was not always as it is now.
These changes contain curiosities, myths, and legends that today we just decided to share with you. We have had a significant number of flags, so much so that historians do not agree on how many have been. That is, the flag with the colors white, blue, and red that currently represents us has not been the first or the only one.
Going back a little bit in history, few people know that our first flag had a 6-pointed star labeled on it, known as “David’s Star”, even before such a flag was designed in Israel. This is due to the fact that Juan Mora Fernández, our first Head of State, had strong ties with the Jewish-Sephardic people of the Costa Ricans. It is precisely those bonds that, in one way or another, the people of Costa Rica still have with the Hebrew culture, are now revealed.
Our current flag
This was designed as such on September 29th, 1848, when the national coat of arms design was also created for the first time. It can be defined as a tricolor flag, which is made up of at least 5 stripes that are horizontally positioned, in which a strip of red color stands out, which is positioned at the center of the flag. It can be said that it is located right in the middle of 2 white stripes. Together with these, a smaller blue king stripe follows them. In the same way, in this white stripe, the national emblem is embroidered in medium size.
In this way, such a design constitutes a true beauty of the flag that allows the “Ticos” to differentiate themselves from the rest of the world.
Colors that make it up
It is said that each of the ranges of colors that make up each flag of each country, does so with a specific purpose. These, basically, make known the characteristics that each country has, attributing it to one or several colors in particular. With our national flag, exactly the same happens. We will explain what each color that contains the most representative patriotic symbol represents:
Red. It represents love and passion. But it also reminds each inhabitant of the bloodshed that each of the heroes poured out in their struggle for the freedom of the country itself. It should be noted that these strips have a diameter ratio of 1: 1: 2: 1: 1.
White. It has a quite important meaning since this color represents the peace that reigns in Costa Rica. It is also attributed to the representation of one of the most stable and perfect democracies that currently exist in the world.
Blue. It has a special representation. The color itself speaks of the richness of the oceans that border the country and, similarly, the Costa Rican sky. The flag carries with it in one of the stripes, especially the red, exhibits an inscription on the national coat of arms that came into force at the same time as the national flag.