Sri Lanka National Flag

The national flag of Sri Lanka was first raised in 1950 and every part has a deep meaning behind it. Each colour within the flag has a relation to the cultures and ethnicities within the country. The orange stripe represents the Tamil people, and the green stripe represents the Muslim people. While the yellow border and maroon section represents the other minority races within the country of Sri Lanka. The lion displayed on the flag of Sri Lanka displays a variety of different meanings. The lion represents the Sinhala people of Sri Lanka. However, parts of the lion have different meanings with the nose demonstrating intelligence. The beard of the lion indicates purity of words and the lion's mane signifies religious, observance, meditation and wisdom. The lion's front paws display purity in handling wealth. The sword represents both the sovereignty of Sri Lanka as well as the elements of fire, water, earth and air which are displayed by the handle of the sword. Finally, the bo-leaves which are located in each of the four corners stand for both the four virtues – Friendliness, Happiness, Kindness and Equanimity and the influence Buddhism has on the country of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is an island approximately 65,610km² located to the South-East of India. Sri Lanka also has a population of approximately 21.4 million people.

Sri Lanka is one of the top tea producers in the entire world with over 1 million of its residents working in the tea industry. However, Sri Lanka is not just known for their tea the country also has incredible biodiversity, with approximately 123 species of mammals, 227 species of birds, 178 species of reptiles, 122 species of amphibians and hundreds more of insects and fish.