After the independence of the Republic of Macedonia from Yugoslavia, the country made some changes in the national symbols. The flag was changed two times and today's flag includes an eight ray sun on a red background, while the coat of arms from the SR Macedonia stayed the same except the red star was removed. The Golden lion and the Vergina Sun are the unofficial symbols of the Macedonian state.

[edit] National flag

National flag

The flag of the Republic of Macedonia depicts a stylised yellow sun on a red field, with eight broadening rays extending from the centre to the edge of the field. It was created by Pr. Miroslav Grčev and was adopted on 5 October 1995 after a one-year economic blockade imposed by Greece in order to force the Republic of Macedonia to remove the ancient Macedonian Vergina Sun from the flag. Red and yellow have always been considered the main colors representing Macedonia, probably because of the colors of the historical coat of arms of Macedonia. The new eight-rayed sun represents "the new sun of Liberty" referred to in the national anthem of the Republic of Macedonia, Denes nad Makedonija. However a lot of Macedonian nationalists consider the Vergina Sun flag as flag of the ethnic Macedonians and the Macedonian diaspora.

[edit] Coat of arms

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Macedonia is composed of two curved garlands of sheaves of wheat, tobacco leaves and opium poppy fruits, tied by a ribbon decorated with the embroidery of traditional Macedonian folk motives. In the centre of the ovoid frame are depicted a mountain, a lake and a sunrise.^[1] These devices are said to represent "the richness of the country and it's struggle and freedom". The whole composition and design is based with the pattern from the emblem of the SFR Yugoslavia and does not have any roots in the historical heraldic coats of arms of Macedonia. The features of the national emblem contain a rising sun which symbolizes freedom, the Šar Mountains with its peak named Ljuboten or mount Korab and the river Vardar.^[2][3] The emblem also contains poppy fruits; poppy was brought to Macedonia by the Ottoman Empire in the first half of XIX century.^[4] There were efforts to update the national emblem, but so far this kind of efforts have failed.

[edit] National anthem

Denes nad Makedonija (English translation: "Today Over Macedonia") is the national anthem of Macedonia. It was composed by Todor Skalovski and the lyrics were written by Vlado Maleski in 1941^[5]. It was used by ASNOM and later performed as a popular song of the Macedonians during the time of Socialist Republic of Macedonia, a part of Yugoslavia. Later the song was officially adopted to be the anthem of the independent Macedonia.^[5][6]

[edit] Unofficial symbols

The flag of the Republic of Macedonia between 1992 and 1995

• Vergina flag (official flag from 1991 to 1995) is a stylized yellow sun centered on a red field with eight main and eight secondary rays emanating from the sun, tapering to a point. The Vergina Sun is believed to have been associated with ancient Macedonian kings such as Alexander the Great and Philip II, although it was used as an Greek and Thracian art long before the Macedonian period. The symbol was discovered in the present-day Greek region of Macedonia and Greeks regard it as an exclusively Greek symbol. The Vergina sun on a red field was the first flag of the independent Republic of Macedonia, until it was removed from the state flag under an agreement reached between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece in September 1995. The Vergina sun is still used unofficially as a national symbol by the Macedonians and the Macedonian diaspora.

The lion symbol in the Fojnica Armory roll, 1340

• The Golden Lion first appears in the Fojnica Armory from 1340.^[7] On the coat of arms is a crown, inside a yellow crowned lion is depicted standing rampant, on a red background. On the bottom enclosed in a red and yellow border is written "Macedonia". The use of the lion to represent "Macedonia" was continued in foreign heraldic collections throughout the 15th to 18th centuries^[8][9]. The lion was also used in the 19th century by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. After Macedonia proclaimed independence, a proposal by Miroslav Grčev was put forward in 1992 to replace the current coat of arms with this golden lion on a red shield, but was not approved. However, modern versions of this historical lion has been added to the emblem of several political parties, organizations and sports clubs in Macedonia and with the Macedonian diaspora.

[edit] References

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