Canada's maple leaf flag

(NC)-The maple leaf flag turns 31 this year. Compared to other national flags, Canada's red and white maple leaf is still in its adolescence.

While the maple leaf flag may be a relative newcomer to the world stage, its identification with Canada is inescapable. Whether it's being raised to the sounds of 0 Canada at the Olympics or emblazoned on the shoulder of a UN peacekeeper or standing guard over the graves of Canadian war dead in a Commonwealth cemetery, the clean bold lines of Canada's national flag speak of the distinctive, proud country it represents.

The flag that is so familiar to us today was more than a generation in the making. It was perhaps no surprise that the maple leaf figured prominently in the new design. The maple leaf had been associated with this country for hundreds of years, well before the arrival of Europeans. Red and white have been the official colours of Canada since 1921, the result of a royal proclamation by King George V.

As Canada approached its 100th birthday, the search for a new flag intensified. The exercise captured the imagination of the country. A special parliamentary committee held 46 sittings. It listened to hours of testimony from heraldic experts, historians and ordinary citizens. It was flooded by more than 2,000 proposed designs.

After months of study and investigation, the committee recommended the flag that is so familiar to us today. Parliament adopted the new design in mid December 1964 and its proclamation came into effect two months later.

The maple leaf flag was raised for the first time at noon, February 15, 1965 during special ceremonies on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Speaker of the Senate, Maurice Bourget, used that historic occasion to sum up the feelings of many Canadians: "The flag stands for the unity of the nation," he said. "It speaks for all the citizens of Canada regardless of their race, language, creed or opinion."

For many Canadians, those words ring as true today as they did a generation ago when the maple leaf made its debut over Parliament Hill - something to think about when we celebrate our flag's birthday on February 15.