Introduction
The flag of Christmas Island is split diagonally, blue from the upper hoist and green from the lower fly, with the Southern Cross on the blue, a golden bosun bird on the green, and a yellow disc in the centre carrying the green outline of the island.
Meaning & Symbolism
The blue is the sea and the green is the vegetation. The golden bosun bird is endemic to the island. The disc was originally there to solve a design problem, because the two diagonal halves left the centre empty, and the island map was put on it.
History of the Christmas Island Flag
The design won a local competition in 1986 but was not made official until 26 January 2002, sixteen years later. In between it was used unofficially and widely.
Christmas Island is best known for the annual migration of tens of millions of red crabs from the forest to the sea, which closes roads across the island.
Curiosities
- The design won a competition in 1986 but waited sixteen years to become official.
- The golden bosun bird on the flag lives nowhere else.
- The central disc exists because the diagonal split left an awkward empty middle.
- Every year tens of millions of red crabs cross the island to spawn, and roads are closed for them.
- The island is named for the day it was sighted, Christmas Day 1643.
Download Flag
Download the flag of Christmas Island in high-quality SVG vector format or PNG raster images. SVG files can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
Digital icon artwork; its proportions may differ from the official flag proportions listed on this page.