As the familiar notes of Christmas carols fill the streets, my mind often drifts to the far corners of the world.
Do you remember those innocent childhood days when we’d play games, guessing country names by the patterns of their flags?
Somewhere along the way, we began to overlook these flags, seeing them as mere “symbols” or visual background noise.
Yet, a single flag is a distillation of centuries of history and national pride.
I recently spoke with a vexillologist (a flag researcher) who described flags in a way that felt like watching a masterfully crafted short film.
He asked: “Why is the Japanese flag simply red and white?”
The answer to that question transforms the everyday landscape into something more vivid and dramatic.
The “Tricolor” as a Global Standard
