Today's Thai flag consists of the color combinations red, white and blue; but how did the Thai flag come into being? They stand for the nation (red), religion (white) and monarchy (blue). It has been in use for over 100 years and was officially introduced to the country on September 28, 1917. However, the flag had gone through several stages of development by then, especially in the former Kingdom of Siam (approx. 1700-1916), where it was changed five times before it reached its current design.
How was the Thai flag created?
The current flag of Thailand consists of the color combinations red, white and blue. They stand for the nation (= red), religion (= white) and monarchy (= blue). It has been in use for over 100 years and was officially introduced to the country by King Rama VI (Vajiravudh) on September 28, 1917. However, the flag had gone through several stages of development by then, especially in the former Kingdom of Siam (approx. 1700 - 1916), where it was changed five times before it reached its current design. Although Thailand was officially called "Siam" until 1939, this flag had already been adopted two decades earlier and has not changed since. Below is a chronology of the flag's history:
Siamese service flag Siamese service flag Siamese service flag
(ca. 1700-1782) (1782-1855) (1817-1855)
Flag of Siam Flag of Thailand Flag of Thailand
(1855-1916) (1916-1917) (1917-present)
According to tradition, the development of the flag with an elephant into the symmetrical red and white flag introduced in 1916 was the result of a negative experience of the king: according to tradition, he is said to have seen the flag hanging upside down during a flood, which at the time was a bad omen. To prevent an impending evil, he then designed a new flag that contained the symmetrical stripes.
The penultimate design is very similar to the current one. The reason for changing the center stripe from red to blue is a bit controversial. One source says that blue stands for the day of the birth of King Rama VI: a Saturday, which according to Thai astrology means the color blue (= luck). Another source, however, says that the blue stands in honor of the allies in the First World War - for example, the flags of France, Great Britain, Russia and the USA also show a color combination of red, white and blue. Thailand's flag has not changed since 1917.
In addition to the above flags, there were also two special war flags that were used by the armed forces during the First World War (fortunately no longer in use today):
War flag (front) War flag (back)
Finally, there are two navy flags that have been in use since 1917:
Naval ensign Naval ensign of the Royal Navy
Side Fact:
The flag of Thailand is very similar to the national flag of Costa Rica, which is also decorated in symmetrical stripes and in the same color combination, but the colors blue and red are reversed:
Source: Wikipedia
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagge_Thailands
