Nepal has the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular. Its distinctive design consists of two joined triangular pennants, creating a double-pennon shape rather than a four-sided flag.
The crimson field represents bravery and Nepal’s national flower, the rhododendron. A blue border symbolizes peace and harmony. The two white emblems are a crescent moon and a stylized sun, representing the permanence of the country and the hope that Nepal will endure as long as those celestial bodies.
Nepal’s modern flag was standardized by civil engineer Shankar Nath Rimal and adopted on December 16, 1962. It draws on older pennant traditions associated with the Shah dynasty and earlier Himalayan kingdoms. Switzerland and Vatican City are common mix-ups: their national flags are square, but still rectangular in the broad geometric sense.