President George Manneh Weah has by Proclamation declared Wednesday, August 24, 2022, as National Flag Day and is to be observed throughout the Republic as a National Holiday.
The Proclamation is in consonance with an Act approved on October 25, 1915, by the National Legislature of the Republic of Liberia declaring the 24th day of August of each year as “National Flag Day” to be observed as a National Holiday.
A statement from the Foreign Ministry claims that in order to promote national pride and patriotism, residents of the Republic observe the Day every year as a demonstration of their dedication to the National Ensign, which represents the country’s existence as a sovereign entity.
The Proclamation further orders citizens and foreign residents within the borders of Liberia to give prominence to the observance of the event throughout the Republic by flying the National Flag from each dwelling and public building.
The Proclamation also orders that Government offices, as well as public and business houses, remain closed during the observance.
The Proclamation commemorates that a group of women, led by Mrs. Susannah Lewis, who were bright and forward-thinking citizens of the Republic at the time, collaborated to create the National Flag.
The release noted that the making of the National Flag of the Republic of Liberia was a historic event of great significance for Liberia as Africa’s Pacesetter in the struggle for self-determination and inspiration to the future of African States.
The release recounted that the National Ensign of the Republic of Liberia is visible evidence of the country’s sovereignty and independence as well as a symbol of pride and dignity within the comity of nations.
The Liberian Flag is composed of six red and five alternate white stripes totaling eleven stripes, each representing one of the eleven signers of Liberia’s Declaration of Independence; the blue field is in the upper left corner of a rectangular form with a single white star in the center, representing Liberia as the continent of Africa’s only independent state at the time; the color red represents the blood of those who lost their lives fighting for independence, and the white star is in the center of the blue field.
