The flag of Finland is a rectangular Nordic cross, more commonly known as the Scandinavian cross. The first Variation was the Danish flag the Dannebrog. Following that Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland have produce flags following the same principle. The Siniristilippu (Blue Cross Flag) originate from the beginning of the 20th century when Finland claimed independence from Russia. The flag features the Nordic Cross in blue placed on a white background. The blue on the flag is said to represent Finland’s 60,000 lakes and the sky, the white represents the snow which covers Finland for up to 6 months every year. The State flag is extremely similar to the National flag, but it displays the Finnish coat of arms in the centre of the cross. The third variation of the civil flag is the Swallow tailed state flag; this is used by the military. The final variation is the Presidential flag of the Republic of Finland. This flag is the same as the military flag but displays the Cross of Liberty in the upper-left corner. The Cross of liberty is the symbol for the Order of the Cross of Liberty where the President of Finland is the grand master of the Order.

After gaining independence from Russian rule, the Finns decided they wanted a special flag, yet the design dates back to the 19th century. It was first seen used by the Nyländska Jaktklubben, a Finnish yacht club which was founded in 1861. Shortly after gaining independence the government held a competition to design the new Finnish flag. The proposals were split into two categories; Flags in red and yellow which were the colours from the Finnish coat of arms and Flags in blue and white.

Finnish Law governs the flag. It has power over, Official Finnish Flag days, size and proportion of the flag, where the flag can be used. According to Finnish law, the ratio of the flag is 11:18 (height:width). When flown the recommendation is that the flag should be 1/6th of the size of the pole.

The Finnish national flag is used by organisations and citizens of Finland as well as regions of Finland. Under Finnish law anyone is welcome to fly the flag, where and when they deem it to be a suitable situation. The state flag is used by the Government and the two churches in Finland; Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox churches. The military flag is used by the Finnish defence forces.

Finland has both official and unofficial ‘Flag Days’ in which the Finnish flag is flown usually from 8AM to dusk.  The most notable of these ‘Flag Days’ is midsummer where the flag is flown from 6PM on Midsummer’s eve to 9PM on Midsummer Day. Midsummer is celebrated throughout Finland as the ‘Day of the Finnish Flag’.