The "Lion Flag" of Sri Lanka was adopted in 1948, but it was used as a symbol of justice for a long time before. Its main motive is yellow lion on a red field holding a sword as a symbol of power. Green and red stripes were added to the left part of the flag after 1815 and these stripes are intended to symbolize Hindu Tamils and Muslim Maurs minorities living on the island beside the Sinhalese majority. Moreover, after renaming in 1972 from Ceylon to Sri Lanka, four yellow leaves were added to the lion´s field. Each leaf should remind one of the Buddhist values - kindness, compassion and desire to be a benefit for the society, joy, peace and well-balanced mind.
Historical Flags[]
Standard of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy, used as the Kingdom of Kandy's flag, c. 1798–1815
Flag redesigns[]
Flag of Portuguese Ceylon
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