Every year on June 4, Estonia celebrates the important holiday — National Flag Day. This Day received the status of a public holiday in 2004, but there is no day off in the republic.
The Estonian national flag consists of three horizontal stripes in blue, black and white.
The blue color symbolizes the sky, the black color — is the breadwinner land, and the white color — is the color of purity and hope. This combination of colors is unique and is not used in any other national flag.
The first time these colors were used was in 1881 by Tartu students who united into the Estonian Student Society. The blue, black and white flag was blessed at the church in Otepää on June 4, 1884.
The tricolor received the status of the national flag of the Republic of Estonia in 1922 and flew on the Long Herman Tower until 1940. In the early 1990s, on the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, the Estonian people again openly carried a blue, black and white flag in their hands. It was re-approved as the national flag on August 7, 1990.
The flag is raised above the Long Herman Tower in Tallinn at sunrise and lowered at sunset. The raising of the flag is accompanied by the melody of the Estonian anthem. In honor of the holiday, national flags are hung everywhere for this day, and solemn services are held in churches.