Ukraine Flag, Anthem and Emblem

The Constitution states that the national symbols of Ukraine shall be the National Flag of Ukraine, the National Emblem of Ukraine and the National Anthem of Ukraine. This Ukrainian minisheet commemorates the 20^th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Anthem, Flag, and Emblem. Thank you Julia for this lovely minisheet of stamps. The stamp on the left (2.00) depicts the emblem, the stamp on the right (3.00) shows the Flag and in between them is written the Anthem of Ukraine.

National Flag of Ukraine. The Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width. The top is blue, the bottom - yellow. Blue and yellow, the colours of the sky, mountains, streams, and golden fields have symbolized Kyivan Rus' long before the introduction of Christianity. With the acceptance of Christianity, blue and gold were incorporated into church symbolism. After the Mongol-Tatar invasion in the 1200's the use of blue/gold was interrupted, to be revived again in church ornaments and city crests some time later. The emblem of the city of Myrhorod, for example, was a gold trident over a blue background. Another city, Pryluky, used the head of an ox in gold over a blue background as its insignia. And in Lubny, the city emblem pictured a hand holding a golden mace over a blue background. The banners of the Cossacks (17th Century) were blue with gold stars, a gold cross, or with pictures of saints rendered in gold.

National Emblem of Ukraine. The National Emblem is a trident. The first image of a trident appeared in the 1st century AD. When Ihor, Prince of Kyivan Rus' from 912 to 945AD, sent ambassadors to sign a treaty with the Byzantine emperor, they sealed the document with a trident. As the official emblem of the Kyivan princes, the trident was stamped on coins, seals; it was depicted on porcelain and in frescoes. It is thought that the trident represented the division of the world into three spheres: the earthly, the celestial, and the spiritual as well as the union of the three natural elements of air, water and earth. The trident was endorsed as the official emblem of Ukraine; the blue and yellow flag as the national flag of Ukraine by the Supreme Rada in 1992.

National Anthem of Ukraine. Pavlo Chubynsky -a scientist and poet - wrote the lyrics to the anthem of Ukraine in 1862. M. Verbytsky composed the music.