The Nordic cross on Finland’s national flag is blue, officially described as sea blue, against a white field.
Finland’s blue-and-white design is known in Finnish as the siniristilippu, or “Blue Cross Flag.” Blue is traditionally associated with Finland’s many lakes and its sky, while white evokes the snow-covered landscape. The cross also places Finland within the shared Nordic flag tradition.
The present design emerged around the time Finland gained independence from the Russian Empire in 1917. Artists Eero Snellman and Bruno Tuukkanen specified the final form, and the national flag was officially adopted in 1918.
The civil flag is the familiar plain white field with a blue cross. Finland also has state and military versions that add the national coat of arms or swallowtail features, but those variations do not change the cross’s color. The red and yellow sometimes visible on state flags belong to the coat of arms, not the cross.