Green and white with a Star of Bethlehem on the coat of arms: the flag of Natal recalls that the Brazilian city was founded on a Christmas Day.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a rectangular field with a 7:10 ratio divided into two equal horizontal stripes: dark green on top and white below. In the centre, on the line that separates them, it carries the coat of arms of the city.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
Natal was founded on 25 December 1599, and that is where its name comes from
The flag arrived much later: it was created by Municipal Law 978, of 8 December 1959
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Natal, capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, has two stripes, green on top and white below, with the coat of arms of the city in the centre. On the coat of arms shines a star with a tail: the Star of Bethlehem, because ‘natal’ means ‘Christmas’ in Portuguese.
Natal was founded on 25 December 1599, and that is where its name comes from. The flag arrived much later: it was created by Municipal Law 978, of 8 December 1959. Nobody has been found who designed it.
No changes are known since 1959.
Star with tail
the Star of Bethlehem, which according to the Gospel guided the Magi. It recalls the name of the city.
Green and white
no official explanation has been found. They are the colours of the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Wall-shaped crown
the one many city coats of arms carry.
On 25 December 1599 a mass was held where the church of Nossa Senhora da Apresentação stands today. That Christmas Day is considered the founding of the city.
The fort that protects the city was begun on 6 January 1598, Twelfth Night, which is why it is called Forte dos Reis Magos. Christmas is twice in the origin of Natal.
Two years earlier, in 1957, the state of Rio Grande do Norte had adopted a flag with the same division: green on top, white below and a coat of arms in the centre. It was designed by the folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo.
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Test what you have read about the flag of Natal.
Text based on the article “Natal, Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil) — Flags of the World” from the Spanish Wikipedia, published under the licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: ViniciusBR11, Prefeitura de Natal, Wikimedia Commons · Public domain.
