On Feb. 24 of 1821 the official Mexican flag design was adopted following Mexican Independence from the Spanish. In 1937 Presidente Lazaro Cardenas declared 24 de Febrero Dia Nacional de la Bandera.
The Mexican flag is composed by three distinct colors: Verde symbolizes the hope of the people in the future of their race, Blanco represents the purity in the ideals of the people and Rojo symbolizes the blood that was shed by our nations heroes. In the center of the flag you can observe the shield of the ancient city of Tenochtitlan, now called Mexico City.
The meaning of this shield lye's in the ancient legend of the Aztecs, who were living unsuspectingly in Aztlan when their principal warrior God Huitzilopochtli spoke to their priests and told them they must abandon their home in search for a new land that shall bring them power and riches, where a new people were to be born; and that they shall look for an Aguila posing on a Nopal devouring a serpent for this would be a sign that they had reached the promised land. After about 300 years of searching they finally encountered the sign they had been looking for in the middle of a lake, they built the city of Tenochtitlan; that very moment is considered the founding of Mexico, and because of it's importance the shield is included in the flag.
The eagle represents the cosmic force of the Sun, the cactus is Mexico's landscape and the serpent represents the potentiality of the land.
This day is usually celebrated at local schools and plazas, or where ever there might be a flag to be raised!
Viva Mexico!
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