What do each of the colors on the South African flag stand for?

Answer 1

1. Red for Bloodshed 2. Blue for open blue skies 3. Green for the Land 4. Black for the black people 5. White for the European people 6. Yellow for the Natural Resources - i.e Gold The ' Y ' symbolizes the merging nationalities - i.e Unity :- convergence and going forward as one unified nation of previously disparate groups in South Africa. * The red, white and blue colors were taken from the colors of the Boer Republics. * The yellow, black and green are taken from the African National Congress (ANC) flag. Note : The meanings attached to the colors of the SA flag as outlined above are NOT official, although they are accepted as such in some quarters. The choice in colors when designing the flag, arose from their use in the past in flags in this country. (Above information supplied by : Nicolas Noakes, 11 Feb 2000)

Answer 2

The old South African flag was actually four flags, and the incorporated flags were themselves made of several flags.

The background was three stripes of orange, white and blue. This is a reference to the Dutch flag, and the House of Orange, a major merchant house which played a big part in the colonisation of the Cape.

Within the central white stripe are three smaller flags arranged together.

The Union Jack, of the UK, the Vierkleur of the Transvaal Republic and the flag of the Orange Free State.

The Union Jack is the flags of St Andrew - white diagonal cross on blue, St George - red cross on white and St Patrick - red diagonal cross on white.

The Vierkleur (Four-Colour) of the Transvaal is a red white and blue flag, identical to the Dutch flag, with a vertical green strip at the flagpole side.

The flag of the Orange Free State is white and orange stripes, and in the corner is a tiny Dutch flag.

This is all very complex. The colours don't really mean anything.

Answer 3

The Colors on the South African Flag

The current national flag of the Republic of South Africa is made up of 6 colors:

1. Chili red
2. National flag white
3. Spectrum green
4. National flag blue
5. Blue black
6. Gold yellow

The flag was designed by Mr. Fred Bronwell. Its debut came after the country's first democratic elections, which took place in April 1994. The flag has thus become a symbol of the unity of the different race groups in South Africa. The flag was designed using a combination of colors from historic South African flags.

• The chili red may have been adopted from the Dutch flag
• The blue and white were colors on both the Dutch and old South African flags
• The black, green and yellow were colors on the ANC flag

The flag was not designed with the intention of having each of the colors represent a certain aspect in South Africa. The Y or V form of the flag was chosen to symbolize the unity, or coming together, of South Africa's different groups.

Many South Africans choose to associate each color on the flag with something, or some event, that is significant in theirview. As a result, many unofficial interpretations of the national flag exist in South African communities. A common interpretation is as follows:

Red: bloodshed of activists

White: white population

Blue: skies or the ocean, since SA is bordered by 2 oceans

Yellow: minerals

Green: agriculture and land

Black: the non-white population or Mr Mandela, the ex-head of SA.

Since these are unofficial interpretations, they may vary widely. The South African government's official website stresses the following:

"Individual colours, or colour combinations represent different meanings for different people and therefore no universal symbolism should be attached to any of the colours."

(See the Related link below for more information.)
The South African flag contains the colours of black, yellow, green, white, red and blue.The red, white and blue of the flag were carried over from the old flag, and represented the influence of the English and Dutch who first colonised the region. The red is not a true red, but a red/orange. This colour recalls the red of the Union Jack and Dutch flags and the orange of the previous flag, resulting in a combination of the two colours. Red and orange were both predominant colours in earlier South African flags.The black, green and gold are the colours of the southern African nations in general. The green theoretically reflects the unification of the various ethnic groups of southern Africa.
The colours on the flag have no meanings. However, the flag itself is a symbol of freedom and democracy, as it became the official South African flag after the first democratic election in 1994.
"Although the colors have no official meaning attached to them, they represent a synopsis of the country's vexillological history and current political realities. Black, green and yellow are the colors of Nelson Mandela's political party. Moreover, the flag incorporates also the colors of the African National Congress and the former Boer republics flags (red, white, and blue). The Y shape represents the convergence of South Africa's diverse society and unity. The South African flag is basically made up of former South African flags and the past meanings of the colors were that red stands for bloodshed, blue for open blue skies, green for the land, black for the black people, white for the European people and yellow for the natural resources such as gold."
Actually they do not represent anything, because it was felt that different people should have their own interpretation of what the colours could mean. In the overturned Y shape, however, many people may well see the symbolism of different elements of the South African population coming together to become one nation.

Answer 4

The white 'Y' in the flag represents the unity of South Africa in 1994.

The colours on the flag have no meanings. However, the flag itself is a symbol of freedom and democracy, as it became the official South African flag after the first democratic election in 1994.

Answer 5

Nelson Mandela changed them when he became president to represent South Africa as a rainbow nation.

Answer 6

It symbolises the same thing to all South Africans whether Afrikaans speaking or not. Please see the related link to a similar question below.

Answer 7

Black, yellow, green, white, blue, and red