Mexican Flag

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A country's flag symbolizes a lot of things as to the sovereignty of the nation. The Mexican flag shows just this. As there are three different colors in the Mexican flag, each of the three colors has different meanings related to Mexico's rich cultural history. Green signifies the Independence movement and symbolizes hope of the country. White signifies the purity of the Catholic faith. Since Mexico is an overly religious country, it has decided to include this attribute in the Mexican flag. Red represents the blood of the National Heroes who fought for independence and it symbolizes unity.

In the center of the Mexican flag is the country's coat of arms consisting of an eagle perched upon a prickly pear cactus with a serpent in its beak. This image was based on an Aztec legend about a group of early settlers trying to find a place to build their capital city of Tenochtitlan. It was told that the leader of these people was instructed in a dream by the god of war, Huitzilopochtli, to build the capital city in a place where they will find the scene of an eagle perched upon a prickly pear cactus eating a serpent. And they did find the place in a swampy area that is now the main plaza in Mexico.

When the Independence movement ended with a victory in 1821, the flag was created to be a sign of this victory. Mexicans celebrate a festival in honor of their flag called the El Dia de la Bandera (Fiesta of the Mexican Flag) on the 24th of February each year.

Mexicans show respect to their flag by placing their right arm in a salute, with palms facing downward, over their chests. And when they do this, they feel a sense of pride as they sing their national anthem and remember how their heroes fought bravely for the independence of their country.

It is with such baubles that men are led.

—Napoleon I