A New Flag In Our Midst?

Posted by Happy Homemaker UK

Being a flag nerd,

I can identify most national flags

around the world

But this one took me by surprise which I saw waving

twice during the Summer Olympics

The Silver Fern (not a feather)

Besides the flag of Cornwall (England)

and the Jolly Roger,

I couldn't recall seeing another black & white flag

So I googled it

and found out New Zealanders are considering changing their flag

Current New Zealand Flag

The flag evolved from their naval flag flown as a British colony

and does not reflect their identity, independence or

non-European population today

And it looks a lot like Australia's flag

which Jerry Seinfeld identified as

'the Union Jack at night time'

(funny flag humor)

Australian Flag

In terms of branding,

a black flag with a white fern is certainly 

more recognizable globally

Look at Canada's redesigned flag

- simple yet unique -

Canada's flag pre- and post-1965

You can see how some countries view the Union Flag emblem 

as historical but less a part of their future

On the other hand,
the Union Jack is extremely relevant in the UK

See how it is a clever overlay of three of the four 

constituent country flags within the United Kingdom?

It creates the 'Union Flag'

Notice it's not symmetrical

A few readers have kindly commented it technically is not the Union Jack

because a 'jack' is a flag on a ship

And they do refer to this flag as the Union Flag here

But in the US (where many of my readers are from), 

it is known exclusively as the Union Jack

And calling it the Union Flag
sounds like it is from the American Civil War
or represents labor unions

So for these reasons, I'll use the terms interchangeably :)

Interestingly

the Union Flag has not been immune to proposals of a flag redesign

over the last ten years either

Proposed Union Flag including Wales; a modernized Union Jack reflecting today's cultural diversity

However, changes haven't gotten off the ground

for this iconic symbol

As for New Zealand, I think it is a great idea to rebrand their global identity

Are there any New Zealanders who could weigh in?

Sources: NZFlag, Wikipedia, Creative Review, BBC News