History Of The Mexican Flag Essay, Research Paper
History of the Mexican Flag
The Mexican Flag has a rich and colorful history. Before the Spanish came, the Aztecan flag had snakes and panthers pictured on it. Following the conquest, a flag resembling that of Castille was adopted, and on August 13, 1530, the first flag parade was ordered by the Government of Don Alonso de Estrada to commemorate the fall of Tenochtitlan nine years before.
New leaders and new flags were brought about by the outbreak of the War of Independence, almost three hundred years later. Igniting the revolution, Don Miguel Hidalgo introduced the flag of the Virgen of Guadalupe. The General don Jose Mar?a Morelos adopted several different flags during the same struggle, and upon recieving independence in 1821, the Flag of the Three Guarantees was added.
The modern flag still has the traditional colors of red, green, and white, along with the national crest in the center, similar to many older versions. Mexico has celebrated Flag Day on March 12 every year since 1937 in a ceremony before the Monument to General don Vicente Guerrero. He was the first military leader to swear allegiance to the flag, in Acatempan on 12 March 1821.
The colors of the Mexican flag represent the following:
Green– Hope, Fertility of the soil
White– Purity
Red– The blood shed during Independence
A legend explains the national seal, which is the symbol found in the center of the flag. According to it the Aztecs were told by their god, Huitzilopochtli that they were to found a city on the spot where they found an eagle devouring a serpent on a cactus. This city was to be named Tenochtitlan, and is now more commonly known as Mexico City.