Catalonia
#Catalunya

We want to start this post off by making it clear that we are not Catalan and that it is not our intention to offend anyone with regards to the ongoing conflict around the status of Catalan independence

I like! Red and yellow are two of my fave colours, and it feels like a good number of stripes. That said, I must say that I prefer the Estelada versions (more on those later) as they do feel more complete.

Known as the Senyera, the flag of Catalonia is one of the oldest flags currently used in Europe today, meaning it's actually quite difficult for us to say conclusively what the symbolism is. However, there is a popular 14th Century legend which gives us a good indication.

It tells the story of how in the 9th Century, Count Wilfred the Hairy of Barcelona successfully defeated the Moorish troops of Lobo ibn Mohammed. The Count was gravely injured during the fighting and died in the year 897..

Before Wilfred's death, a grateful King Charles the Bald drew four red bars across the Count's shield after dipping his fingers into the Count's bleeding wounds. So yeah, ig the four bars of the flag represent a man named Wilfred the Hairy's blood.

There are many conflicting sources as to the origin of the Senyera, but they generally attribute its origin to the House of Barcelona sometime around the year 1000.

The House of Barcelona also ruled the Kingdom of Aragon at the time, which led to the Senyera's inclusion in Aragonese heraldry.

A second theory argues that the Kingdom of Aragon adopted the colours of the Papal States (red and yellow) in submission to Rome, although this theory is generally considered to be less valid than the first.

During the Second Spanish Republic, the Senyera was flown to represent the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, before losing its status under the brutal Franco dictatorship.

The Senyara is currently associated with much of the former Kingdom of Aragon, including Valencia, the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales and the historical French region of Provence.

Catalonia is considered by many to be a stateless nation and it has a strong separatist movement, which campaigns for independence from Spain. The conflict has deep roots and continues to this day, as was seen in the referendum and declaration of independence of 2017.

Catalan nationalists fly a different flag, known as the Estelada. The Estelada keeps the four bars of the Senyera but adds a star on a blue triangle to the hoist of the flag.

The Catalan Estalada was most likely designed in 1918 by Vicenç Albert Ballester i Camps, and was inspired by the Cuban flag - although the five pointed star had previously been known as a symbol of Catalan nationalism.

The Estelada first rose to prominence after the First World War, when US President Woodrow Wilson pushed for self-determination for many ethnic groups (although this didn't seem to apply to British colonies for some reason).

Alongside the Kurds, the Catalans were not given their own state and so began agitating for independence from Spain - with the Estelada as their banner. The Catalan Estelada has many variants, representing different ideological groups campaigning for Catalan independence.

The Socialist Red Estalada was used by the Partit Socialista d’Alliberament Nacional dels Països Catalans (Socialist Party for the National Liberation of the Catalan Countries), a leftist faction of the National Front of Catalonia, to represent the group's Socialist views.

The Red Estelada continues to be a symbol of leftist separatism in Catalonia. The Spanish government has previously made attempts to ban the Estelada at sporting events, arguing that it violates laws around displaying symbols that incite violence.

Other Estelada variations include the ecologist Green Estelada and the Anarchist Black Estelada. I LOVE the Esteladas, they are amongst my fave flags.