Flag of Sri Lanka

The flag of Sri Lanka is also known as Lion Flag. It is a dark red rectangular panel, bordered with yellow colour and consists of a gold lion, holding a golden sword upright in its right fore paw, also four bo (pipul leaves), one in each corner. Next to the left side of this rectangular panel, there are two vertical stripes of equal size in saffron and green color. The saffron strip is designed next to the golden lion. These stripes are also bordered with yellow color. The lion symbol was used by the Lankan rulers from the time of King Vijaya.

Symbol	Representation
The Lion	Bravery
4 Bo Leaves	Buddhism and its influence on the nation. They also stand for the four virtues of Kindness, Friendliness, Happiness and Equanimity
The Orange Stripe	Sri Lankan Tamils
The Green Stripe	Sri Lankan Moors
The Crimson Background	European Burghers and rich colonial background
Yellow Border	Other Ethnic Group like Sri Lankan Malays
The Sword of the Lion	The sovereignty of the nation
The curly hair on the lion's head	Religious observance, wisdom and meditation
The beard of the lion	Purity of words
The handle of the sword	The elements of water, fire, air and earth
The nose of the lion	Intelligence
The two front paws of the lion	Purity in handling wealth
The vertical orange stripe	The Muslim Faith and Moor Ethnicity
The yellow border round the flag	People from other cultures living in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka flag keep the country united and integrates majority with the minority.

Adoption of Sri Lankan Flag:

The Lion Flag of Sri Lanka was adopted in 1950, on the basis of the recommendations of a committee appointed by the Ist Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, The Rt. Hon D.S Senanayake.