European Tricolors: Belgium
I was reminded of Belgium because of an event recently. Belgium’s tricolor has been displayed from Belgian flagpoles for nearly two hundred years. The flag features 3 vertical bands, each equally sized. The colors flown are red, yellow and black. The colors used for this tricolor were in fact taken from the colors of the “Duchy of Brabant.” Also, the vertical design used for the Belgian national flag are based on the French tricolor.
The country of Belgium is located in Western Europe and borders the Netherlands to the north, France to the south and Germany to the east. Luxembourg (also) borders Belgium to the east. Years ago, Belgium and Holland were called the “lower countries.” Not all that crazy of a designation considering the low, at time sub sea level, elevations. However, Belgium does have more of a hilly countryside than Holland.
Belgium borders the North Sea, and so do Germany, the Netherlands, England and Scotland, and some other countries. The North Sea is known for being very choppy at times. Some years ago, friends and I took the boat from Oostende, a city locate on the coast in western Belgium, to Dover, which is located in southeastern England. Our trip west was enjoyable, as we experienced fortunate weather conditions. Our return trip eastwards was challenging, as we faced a typical fall storm.
The people of Belgium are known to be in good health. Their life expectancy was nearly 80 years some years ago. Since the sixties, the life expectancy has grown by 2 months per year. Death of Belgians is mainly due to heart and vascular disease, and some other causes of death. Non-natural causes of death and cancer are the most common causes of death for Belgian females up to the age of (I believe) twenty-four and men up to age of forty fours.
The Belgian colors were first featured horizontally, but shortly after experiencing independence the Belgian government decreed that they should be vertical, just like the French tricolor. When the Duke of Saxe-Coburg became the King he added the shield of Saxony to the arms, but this is now used. The motto of Belgium, which is featured in French or Flemish, is the same as that of the United Netherlands.
I traveled through and to Belgium a number of times. When I lived in Europe some years ago, I observed Belgian flags many times. Hoisted on different types of Belgian aluminum flagpoles, this flag flies beautifully in all weather conditions.
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