The "Happy Sint Maarten Flag Day!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  June 13 and it's Sint Maarten Flag Day.  All began on November 11, 1985 when the Dutch side of the island known as St. Martin/Sint Maarten hoisted their new flag for the first time.  Shortly after that it was established by Island Degree that June 13 would be Sint Maarten Flag Day.  On the days leading up to the June 13 activities, persons and businesses in the community were asked to show their pride and patriotism by flying the Sint Maarten flag on vehicles and buildings, or wherever they deem appropriate.  

The Sint Maarten flag flying majestically above the island.

Over the years, Flag Day was marked as a Day of Observance where citizens should view the flag as the symbol that exemplifies the highest sense of patriotism.  The merging of Sint Maarten and Flag Day annually has the potential of bringing out the desired heightened sense and spirit of patriotism.  Sint Maarten is a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and occupies the southern half of the island of Saint Martin.  The flag was designed by 17 year old Roselle Richardson and was adopted on June 13, 1985.  The design features a horizontal bicolor of red and blue with the coat of arms of Sint Maarten on a white chevron, thus incorporating the colors of the Dutch flag.  

Sint Maarten Flag (click to enlrge)

The red symbolizes solidarity and courage, the blue symbolizes the environ- ment such as skies, beaches and seas while the white is for peace and friend- liness.  The Coat of Arms consists of an orange-bordered azure shield prominently displaying the white Court House in Philipsburg, as well as a bouquet of yellow sage (the national flower) in the upper left, and the silhouette of a Dutch-French friendship monument in the upper right; the shield is surmounted by a gold rising sun in front of which is a dune grey pelican in flight; a gold scroll below the shield bears the motto: SEMPER PRO GREDIENS (Always Progressing) in letters of azure.  All citizens are asked to engrave the motto that is in gold scrolled below the field in our hearts and minds and become the forward looking, thinking and aspiring people, while remaining respectful and mindful of the past, that our flag challenges us to be.  I would like to wish the citizens of Sint Maarten a memorable Flag Day today.  My wife and I consider the beautiful island as our second home!  Just love to visit the island and greet those whom we have met over the past 20 years of visits to the island.  We hope to return as soon as it is  physically and medically safe.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.