It can be difficult to distinguish the Dutch flag from the French flag, especially if you are not from France or the Netherlands. This is because they have similar colors.
However, there are a few ways to differentiate between these two flags.
The main difference between the Dutch and French flags is the stripes’ direction. The Dutch flag is horizontally striped, while the French flag is vertically striped.
This article discusses the Dutch and French flags, their origins, what the colors symbolize for the country, and the similarities and differences between the two flags.
Let’s get started.
The Dutch flag
The Dutch flag represents their history, symbol, and their tradition. It was adopted on 19 February 1937 after Queen Wilhelmina instructed the official colors to be so.
These colors are red, white, and blue, aligned horizontally. The only notable difference between this flag and the former one is that it has orange instead of red.
Orange, white, and blue were the colors set by the former leader of the 16th century, William Prince of Orange. He was the provincial leader who rose in revolt against the Spanish.
What does the color of the Dutch flag represent?
The Dutch flag’s red, white, and blue symbolize different things. Red symbolizes bravery, valor, strength, and hardiness, while white represents peace and honesty.
Additionally, blue stands for vigilance, truth, loyalty, perseverance, and justice.
The French flag
The French flag was officially adopted on the 17th of May 1853, consisting of three vertical stripes. As with many countries, the French tricolor is deeply rooted in the country’s revolutionary history.
The red and blue colors were traditional in the country. Revolutionaries wore blue and red cockades when they stormed Bastille in the late 1700s.
The color white represented the house of Bourbon, a king who ruled France in the 16th century. These three colors were used because they were highly symbolic of the nation.
What does the color of the French flag represent?
The blue color stands as a symbol of both calmness and sadness. The white color symbolizes purity, peace, and the divine.
While the color red represents the anger, tears, and bloodshed from past events. As well as the passion or love the nation had for every citizen.
What are the similarities between the two flags?
The color blend or combination is the only known similarity between these iconic flags. The Dutch flag has red, white, and blue stripes, the same as the French flag.
What are the differences between the two flags?
There are only a few ways to differentiate between the French and Dutch flags. They include;
1. Direction of the stripes
While the Dutch flag contains the same white, red, and blue color, they do not align in the same direction.
The Dutch flag stripes align in a horizontal direction, while the French flag stripes align in a vertical direction.
2. Shade of blue
The Dutch flag and the French flag contain different shades of blue. The Dutch flag has a lighter shade of blue than the French flag, whose blue is specifically darker.
FAQs
Dutch flag vs. French flag – who first used the white, red, and blue flag?
The French were the first to use their flag’s white, red, and blue combination.
Which other flag is similar to the Dutch flag?
The Luxembourg, Paraguay, and Russian flags contain the same color combination as the Dutch flag.
Which color did the Dutch use before blue, red, and white?
The Dutch used white, blue, and orange during the leadership of William Prince of orange. However, it changed after Queen Wilhelmina came into power.
Conclusion
The flag of the Dutch and the French has similar stripes and colors. However, there are a few ways to differentiate them; they include the stripe direction and the level or darkness of the blue stripe.
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Thanks for reading.
