In Canada, it is obviously the maple leaf (yes it is on the flag, but usually just the leaf is used). It seems kind of funny when I think about it, but here, the maple leaf is literally everywhere here.

Canadian political parties? Pretty much all have the maple leaf incorporated in their logo.

Does a company want you to know that their product was made in Canada? Slap a maple leaf on the packaging.

Does a company/organization want to show you that they are Canadian? Maple leaf logo (there’s even a company called Maple Leaf Foods, but I could probably name dozens of Canadian companies that have a maple leaf at least somewhere in their logo).

It is just such a simple and recognizable symbol that it gets used everywhere as opposed to using the whole flag. Does your country have a symbol like this? If it doesn’t, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what would be a good one for your country, and why.

22 comments

  1. The rooster symbolizes France.

    The hat “bonnet phrygien” symbolizes the 1789 Revolution.

    The symbol “fleur de lys” symbolizes the royalty.

    The eagle symbolizes the Napoleonic empire, as it used to be the Roman Empire symbol.

    Edit: fuck I’m from Wallonia but I know French symbols better than Belgium’s.

  2. ☘️☘️☘️

    Ours is relatively iconic, the myth is that St. Patrick used the three sections of the shamrock to explain the holy trinity.

    It’s more prominent with Irish Americans both as an icon and products or companies containing the word shamrock.

  3. The shamrock, while not an official symbol, is commonly associated with Ireland. The harp is the main symbol, as seen on coins and letters from government departments and agencies. There is a harp for Guinness, but it faces the opposite direction to the national symbol.

  5. This one:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Toro_Osborne_Cabezas_de_San_Juan.JPG

    The thing is, it’s the logo of a [brandy de Jerez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandy_de_Jerez) brand

    And those are billboard you see while driving your car, is so recognizable, they are so ingrained in our culture that it need no word or fancy lights, it’s just the silouette ot a bull. And they are considered part of our cultural and artistic heritage (the billboards had to be removed but everybody, from the normal citizens, to politicians, to artists opposed so it was declared cultural heritage and the billboards are protected)

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a2/a0/5c/a2a05cae0c8d85ff575829fa86421458.jpg

  6. The Finnish coat of arms has a lion. It’s history dates back to the 16th century, and you can see that on the memorial stone of Gustav Wasa where it stands for the grand duchy of Finland.

    It’s used by some official institutes, but also, for instance, on the chest of some Finnish national sports teams. Like, by the ice hockey NTs.

    It is also used by some patriotic and nationalistic people, which in some people’s eyes has trashed it. If you see a person donning a necklace with the Finnish lion, you might assume that the person is a nationalistic nutcase. A Finnish lion tattoo is even more alarming. Sadly, because as an image it looks nice enough.

  7. Foreigners will probably say a tulip but really that’s only for tourists. It’s used in some official things (TeamNL sports logo for example) because foreigners associate it with us not because we associate it with us. You won’t see it on anything intended for Dutch people.

    We really just use the flag, it’s simple enough anyway with only the three colours. Or simply make it orange and then we know it too.

  8. Tree crowns is the symbol for Sweden. I think it comes from the old royal palace (burnt down 1697).

    As a Canadian you might recognize it from our hockey team.

  9. No, we don’t have a symbol which people will associate with our country. However, we do have a color; orange. Our national flag is red, white and blue but orange is our national color. When there is a national holiday like Kings Day or a major sporting event it’s common people wear orange clothing and decorate their houses or even streets in this color. The orange color is a reference to our royal family.

  10. Maybe it’s cheating because it is also a flag but we have the Scottish Lion Rampant which is pretty well known here. The Home Nations all have plants as well by which they are recognised: for Scotland the thistle.

  11. [Three Crowns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Crowns)

    Used by everything from [the coat of arms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Great_coat_of_arms_of_Sweden.svg), [the parliament](https://www.riksdagen.se/), [the embassies](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Embassy_of_Sweden_in_London_2.jpg), [the Air Force](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Saab_JAS_39_Gripen_at_Kaivopuisto_Air_Show%2C_June_2017_%28altered%29_copy.jpg), [the Police](https://polisen.se/), [Stockholm City Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Stockholm_Stadshuset_sept2010.jpg), and [the national hockey team](https://8sidor.se/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/191015_ishockey-750×402.jpg)

    It has been in use since the late 13th century. Although there are several explanations and hypothesis, the origin is ultimately unknown.

  12. There are several, not all of which are used, but there are, like:

    * [The Star of Italy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Stellone_d%27Italia.svg), associated with the peninsula since the time of the ancient Greeks, who initially called the country ‘Hesperia’, probably from Hesperus, the morning star, which in fact marked the west, where Italy is located in relation to Greece. The Star of Italy also appears on the [emblem of the republic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Emblem_of_Italy.svg).

    * [Italia Turrita](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Reggio_calabria_monumento_all%27italia.jpg): the personification of the country, depicted as a woman, who wears a walled crown on her head (i.e. made of walls and towers, symbolising the many cities), which gives her name. She is sometimes represented with other attributes such as a star above the crown and a cornucopia in her hand.

    * The colour blue: initially the colour of the House of Savoy, now used both politically and in sport to represent the country.

  13. eagle since it’s in CoA,

    from non official ones we might count white stork as used in logo of [LOT airlines](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3d/LOT_Polish_Airlines.svg/1200px-LOT_Polish_Airlines.svg.png), [Autosan buses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/AutosanLogo.svg/1200px-AutosanLogo.svg.png) or żubr used as logo for [beer](https://swiatoze.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/zubr.png), [vodka](https://cdn.diffords.com/contrib/bws/2019/05/5cd2a33e8fb7a.jpg) or [PEKAO Bank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Bank_Pekao_SA_Logo_%282017%29.svg/1280px-Bank_Pekao_SA_Logo_%282017%29.svg.png)

    /edit: since someone would surely point it – we obviously also got a [stork vodka](https://thedrinksorchard.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/bocian_vodka-1.jpg)

  14. The Three Crowns are doubtless the foremost symbol of Sweden – three golden crowns, with two above and the third centred below. They originally symbolised the three kingdoms ruled by the Medieval Swedish king Magnus Eriksson – Sweden, Norway and Scania. It is also a Christian symbol due to the Holy Trinity. Today the crowns are also the symbol of the Lesser Coat of Arms of Sweden – and are thus also on for example Swedish military and police uniforms. The crowns are also the symbol of the Swedish national hockey team. The team is very commonly referred to as Tree Crowns and display the three crowns on their jerseys. And lastly, the Three Crowns also sit atop the Stockholm City Hall, which is one of the most iconic and recognisable buildings in central Stockholm.

    Another very recognisable and iconic symbol of Sweden is the Dalahäst – an ornamented red wooden horse. Originally a symbol of the province of Dalarna in central Sweden, this horse is now commonly used as a symbol for all of Sweden.

    The moose is also often used as a symbol of Sweden, especially within tourism. It is probably the animal which is most closely associated with the country, both within and outside of Sweden.

  17. Officialy it’s a [standing lion with an axe.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Coat_of_arms_of_Norway.svg)..

    Unofficially… maybe the viking helmet.. If you been to an international sporting event you would be able to spot who is norwegian by their viking helmets.. like Karsten [Warholm](https://vcdn.polarismedia.no/eb283ed2-8da5-481a-9b79-bb19d6ded163?fit=crop&h=700&q=80&tight=false&w=1300), Jakob [Ingebrigtsen](https://premium.vgc.no/v2/images/89a0dc79-1c93-4a57-99c6-c73d5009a4ab?fit=crop&format=auto&h=1536&w=2048&s=53c13b3fe57be153113a0bed56c645a1730f7907), [Drillo](https://akamai.vgc.no/v2/images/cb303e2a-0b44-49fe-996a-d2e2cf51f410?fit=crop&format=auto&h=400&w=270&s=6ca7568c3b232b155fff7b5103fb105f8d54e312), Random [supporter](https://preview.sdl.no/v1/no/pZjqgWozoUaw0r8ZOzVR4g/4gCsOYCQjdk?v=1667020803540).. (famous norwegians)…

  18. The only thing for Germany coming to mind now is the [Bundesadler// Federal eagle ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany#/media/File%3ACoat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg)

    its used for many political symbols like [coat of arms](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany#/media/File%3ACoat_of_arms_of_Germany.svg) , [the euro](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Germany#/media/File%3AEur.de.100.gif), [the police](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-m&biw=414&bih=777&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=bundesadler+polizei&oq=bundesadler+pol&aqs=mobile-gws-lite.0.0l1#imgrc=CLTN9fHFkDOltM) , [and embassy flags](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-m&biw=414&bih=777&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=deutsche+Botschaft+flagge&oq=deutsche+Botschaft+flagge&aqs=mobile-gws-lite..#imgrc=T_j5Woh9vSKC_M)
    [as well as some selected national sports teams](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-m&biw=414&bih=777&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=bundesadler+nationalmannschaft&oq=bundesadler+nationa&aqs=mobile-gws-lite.0.0l1#imgrc=EKLKPmlUATOz-M)

    Interestingly afaik it’s forbidden to use the bundesadler as a private individual. You sometimes see football fans with the”extended flag” version with adler and and flag but that’s technically illegal and will get punished if its exactly that flag.

    The eagle has a long history, cited as one of the oldest national symbols in the world, being used far before the concept of national states existed. Notable examples is the [Holy roman empire](https://www.google.com/search?q=HRE+wappen&client=firefox-b-m&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj88dWwicX7AhXMCuwKHb2xB7UQ_AUIBigB&biw=414&bih=777#imgrc=Ul-UWX34XSXn2M) and of course the [reichsadler](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-m&biw=414&bih=777&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=reichsadler&oq=reichsad&aqs=mobile-gws-lite.0.0l5#imgrc=2fKIvCZwb4MZvM) used by the nazis

  20. Probably [the rooster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooster_of_Barcelos), aka Galo de Barcelos. It comes from a legend from the city of Barcelos, but I’d say it’s considered a national symbol.

    The [Armillary Sphere](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armillary_sphere) as well, perhaps, as it’s featured in our flag.

    There’s also this [coat of arms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/pt/7/75/Portugal_FPF.png). I’m including it because it’s common enough for Portuguese emigrants, as well as their descendants, to use said symbol even though they may not realize that it’s actually the logo for the Portuguese Football Federation lmao

  21. Trident from Coat of arms of Ukraine is widely used as national symbol. Flags with placed trident, despite been unofficial, are quite popular alongside official “clear” flag. Also there are a lot of artistical interpretations of trident symbol in form of hunting falcon, crossed arms etc.

  22. Top Ten Irish Symbols.

    1. [SHAMROCK](https://www.europeana.eu/en/blog/why-the-shamrock-is-a-symbol-of-ireland)(Not 4 Leaf clover, nothing to do with Ireland)
    2. [HARP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbzFy8CGqcU)(Sally O’Brien and the way she might look at you)
    3. [CELTIC CROSS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_cross)
    4. [CLADDAGH RING](https://claddaghring.ie/history-of-the-claddagh-ring/)
    5. [CELTIC KNOT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_knot)
    6. [LEPRECHAUN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmJqGlHbN24)(Only Country that elects mythical creatures to the presidency)
    7. [GAA Logo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiG5BfimrwM)
    8. [ST. BRIDGIDS CROSS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s_cross)
    9. [GUINNESS Branding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ogzVyTtcw)(Surfer, Best Guinness Add)
    10. [KERRYGOLD Butter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjs48Ns6cs)(Who's taking the horse to France?)

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