Symbols

[WS78]

This thread is created solely to ask any interested parties to mention or showcase their national/regional/personal symbol that represents their sentiments and/or way of life.

Particularly National and regional/provincial symbols would be cool.


To start off: Netherlands has several symbols of pride, most notably

the Lion,


the Dutch "coat of arms"


The colour orange (based on our nation's first king Willem's ancestry)


Coat of arms of Gelderland


Coat of arms of Arnhem


And lastly Vitesse Football club

 

[Perfection]

It's my University (on a carpet mat)!

 

[OrpheusPrime]

I just loove the 'southern heritage' that comes with living in Georgia.

 

[Birdjaguar]

It's my University (on a carpet mat)!

The woodchucks!!
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck...etc.

 

[Plexus]

Where the snow crowned Golden Sierras
Keep their watch o'er the valleys bloom,
It is there I would be in our land by the sea,
Every breeze bearing rich perfume.
It is here nature gives of her rarest,
It is Home sweet home to me,
And I know when I die,
I shall breathe my last sigh
For my sunny California.

 

[Perfection]

The woodchucks!!
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck...etc.

That's not woodchuck! It's a Gopher - a golden gopher to be precise!

 

[shortguy]

My college-to-be, also on some sort of carpeting. Same site perhaps?



and my state:

 

[Perfection]

My college-to-be, also on some sort of carpeting. Same site perhaps?

yep http://valuecarpetonline.com

 

[Babbler]

City of Montreal Flag:



The Provincial Flag:



The Maple Leaf:

 

[Perfection]

Best state in the union:

 

[rbis4rbb]

Palmetto, big SC symbol

 

[funxus]

The moose is a bit of a Swedish symbol, especially the one used on warning signs. I guess it's a way of showing a bit of pride in your country, without being too patriotic or nationalistic...
http://www.mpi-sb.mpg.de/~juergen/sverige/august94/bild18.jpg

The three crowns is a symbol for a few things in Sweden, e.g. it's the symbol of our Ice hockey team, and on the police department's shield.
http://www.taekwondo.a.se/docroot/bilder/tre kronor_id110.jpg

These are two of our more Swedish symbols, but I'm sure there's more...

 

[WickedSmurf]

The three crowns is a symbol for a few things in Sweden, e.g. it's the symbol of our Ice hockey team, and on the police department's shield.

Nice symbol, isn't it?

Here's the symbol for my town, a dragon.



And this is for my region/county/whatever (landskap )

 

[stormbind]

The UK is packed with symbols. The most populous symbol-type are the armourial achievements which represent individuals, organisations, and territories. You can see these all over the world, some were retained from former British influence, but most are updated. They are not just pretty symbols, you can actually extract some information from them.

Some other nations also use them.

This is the UK / current monarch complete armourial achievement.



Officially, there is no such thing as a family coat of arms.

The fact that I notice these symbols and their meaning probably highlights quite a lot about me (or my respect for tradition).

 

[Rambuchan]

I live in Hertfordshire. Hert comes from Hart - a deer. Ford from the many fjords crossing the many rivers.

Hertfordshire County

The blue and white waves are held to represent the many rivers of the County, and the small shield and hart are taken from the arms of the Borough of Hertford. The small shields about the supporters' necks bear the arms of the City of St. Albans. At the time of the grant the County Council met in Hertford and St. Albans. The motto is said to have been chosen by Sir Charles Nall-Cain, Bt., who served as High Sheriff of the County in 1925 and bore the cost of the grant.

North Herts (where I live)

The gold and red chevrons recall those in the arms of the Baldock UDC, these are from the arms of Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke. They also suggest the white and red chvrons in the arms of Letchworth UDC. The ermine pale refers to Ermine Street which crosses the eastern part of the District. The fleece like that in the crest of the Hitchin UDC, indicates the former importance of the wool trade, and the sheaves of Barley common to the arms of the Baldock UDC and the Hitchin UDC refer to the malt industry. The sprigs of Oak are like those in the crest of the Letchworth UDC and the mural crown is an emblem of civic government. The hooded crow from the crest of the Royston UDC, is a bird perculiar to the District. The harts link the arms to those of the County Council and the pentagons refer to the union of five former authorities. The cogwheels are for industry.

Town Council Coat of Arms of the 'capital' of the county - Hertford.

The arms appear to have been based upon a seal bearing a hart standing in water, with a tree and castle in the background. They are are canting arms, a play on the town's name once spelt - Hartford. The ermine lions are derived from the heraldry of the Marquess of Salisbury, differenced by shields bearing the Clare arms. The Cecil Lords Salisbury have, with one exception, held the office of High Steward of the former Borough since 1605. The Clare family held the Earldom of Hertford in the twelth century.

Coat of Arms of two close towns to me - Welwyn & Hatfield

The blue wave on a gold background represents the River Lea, with the narrower parallel wave for the River Mimram. The two willows from the crest of the Welwyn Garden City UDC and the device of the Welwyn RDC are in reference to the origin of the name Welwyn - meaning 'willow'. The oak tree is from from the crest of the Hatfield RDC. The shield thus suggests in a simple visual pattern the River Mimram flowing through Welwyn and Welwyn Garden City, and the Hatfield area south of the River Lea. The eight Tudor roses (five visible), from the arms of the Hatfield RDC, refer to the many associations of that period with Hatfield Palace, including the sojourn of the young Elizabeth and her presence at Hatfield on learning of her accession. The gold wheatsheaf, represents the agricultural pursuits of the area, flanked by two blue wings alluding to the local aircraft industry. The wheatsheaf is also a feature of the crest of the ancestors of the Cecils of Hatfield, particularly Lord Burghley, Queen Elizabeth's famous minister and father of Robert Cecil, the first of the family to reside at Hatfield. The harts, like those of the County Council, are a reference to Hertfordshire. The two dividers shaped like a letter W are from the arms of the Welwyn Garden City UDC, emphasizing its character as a planned development. The Roman urn from the device of the Welwyn RDC, typifies the historic antiquities of that area. The motto is that used by the Welwyn Garden City UDC.

 

[Rambuchan]

The three crowns is a symbol for a few things in Sweden, e.g. it's the symbol of our Ice hockey team, and on the police department's shield.
http://www.taekwondo.a.se/docroot/bilder/tre kronor_id110.jpg

These are two of our more Swedish symbols, but I'm sure there's more...

and @ WS. There's something pretty cool about the 3 crowns. It's a striking, hope inspiring kind of symbol.

 

[WickedSmurf]

The Three Crowns national coa is partly rooted in religious ideas (to my great disappointment) which were widespread in Europe at the time, more exactly in the rapidly growing cult of the Three Wise Men (aka "Three Kings") as patron saints, heraldically represented by their three crowns.

Nevertheless, I also like this symbol (pretty damn obviously, still always worth pointing out just one more time ).

 

[CurtSibling]

It's funny how the flag of my country is derived from the tale of a gory execution!

 

[Rambuchan]

It's funny how the flag of my country is derived from the tale of a gory execution!

Do tell please Curt.

@ WS: Yes damn religion has to mess it all up. Lucky you don't get that from 'looking at it blind', as it were.

 

[stormbind]

I suppose the English equivalent of three crowns is three lions (which appear on many things including the national football team's gear) and in songs "three lions on a shirt".

My history sucks, but I think King Richard's legassy entrenched this symbol. If I remember right, King Richard displayed three golden lions on a red shield, and predecessors had two, and one lion, respectively. You can see this in the current monarch's armourial achievement as a representation of England.