2020-07-02 Thu

July 2 is the National Flag and Anthem Day. Although Curacao is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it has its own flag and anthem. The national flag of Curacao was adopted on June 2, 1984. The anniversary of this event is celebrated as a public holiday known as National Flag and Anthem Day.

Curaçao became a Dutch colony in the 17th century. In 1954, it gained self-government as an island territory of the Netherlands Antilles. Thirty years later, the Island Council inaugurated the national flag and the official anthem of the territory. Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, Curacao became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The flag of Curacao is a blue field with a horizontal yellow stripe in the bottom part. In the canton, there are two white five-pointed stars. Blue stands for the sky and sea, yellow represents the sun, and the two stars symbolize two islands – Curacao and Klein Curacao. The national anthem of Curacao, Himno di Korsou, was officially adopted in 1978. Its lyrics were written by Friar Radulphus, but later the government commissioned a group to rewrite them. The music was composed by Friar Candidus Nouwens.

The stamp shown above is a 1,000 Netherlands Antillean cent stamp issued in the year 2019 to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Flag Day. The stamp depicts the flag in the center with a star shining within it. The flag is depicted on sky blue background.

Image Courtesy: Colnect