The History of the Mexican Flag

The Mexican flag has looked roughly the same since it was first established in 1821: three vertical stripes of green, white and red with an eagle crest in the center. The meaning of the Mexican flag colors has changed over the course of the history of the Mexican flag, as has the design of the central crest and the ratio of the stripes. Though the same basic design has been in use since 1821, the official design of the Mexican flag was not recorded until 1984.

The very first Mexican flag is sometimes considered to be the Standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which was carried by Miguel Hidalgo during the Grito de Dolores in 1810. In 1812, still in the depths of the war for independence, General Don Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon created a flag with an eagle crest. The eagle wore an imperial crown and perched on a cactus. In 1821, this design was adopted to represent the First Mexican Empire.

The meaning of the Mexican flag crest design derives from an Aztec legend about the founding of Mexico City. According to the legend, Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war came to the Aztec leader in a dream and said the tribe should settle where they saw an eagle perched on a cactus with a serpent in its mouth. They spotted the prophesied creature in the middle of swamp, which was developed into the city of Tenochtitlan: the city that evolved into the modern Mexico City.

The next major revision to the Mexican flag came in 1823, when the eagle crest was entirely redesigned. The crown was replaced by sheaves of oak and laurel, and a serpent was placed in the eagle’s mouth. This version of the Mexican flag flew over the Mexican Republic, which lasted until the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire.

When the Mexican Republic fell in 1864, the flag was again redesigned for the Second Mexican Empire. The ratios of the stripes were changed, and four small eagles were added, one for each corner of the Mexican flag. But the empire didn’t last long, and when the Mexican Republic was restored in 1867, the design of the Mexican flag returned to the previous design.

The current Mexican flag was instituted in 1968, and the eagle crest was designed by Francisco Eppens Helguera, a famous Mexican artist. The exact ratios and designs of the Mexican flag were officially recorded in the Law on National Arms, Flag and Anthem in 1984.

The design of the Mexican flag may now be officially standardized, but the meaning of the Mexican flag colors is still up for a bit of interpretation. Green is usually considered to represent the independence movement, or the hope of Mexican independence, but the green color may also represent peace. The white stripe on the Mexican flag represents the purity of the Catholic faith, though it may also be considered to symbolize religion in general, or the concept of unity. The red stripe commemorates the blood that was shed for Mexican independence, but it may also represent union between the Americas and Europe.

Sources:

http://www.inside-mexico.com/flag.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Mexican_Empire
http://gomexico.about.com/od/historyculture/qt/mexican_flag.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/history-of-the-mexican-flag.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Mexico
http://www.geocities.com/a1ma_mia/flag/