1219 A.D.: The Danish Flag, Known As 'The Dannebrog', Falls From the Heavens!
We may be certain that the scene did not look quite like this wonderful painting, but aren't paintings great anyway!
The Danes - the people of Denmark - are a wonderful people in so many ways. They are known among other things for being comfortably warm towards each other...they refer to it as hyggie sometimes ('cozy' is a good fit in the English)...and it means things like tending to sit intentionally near to each other in public, more so than apart, to have some convivial chat, or it can mean tending to take joy and comfort and pleasure in the little things. Isn't that a nice quality to be known for? And they have a wonderful country, natural and scenic. Yet, they had a pretty warlike nature during many parts of their past. They were vikings. They were raiders. They were clannish in their time. But they adopted Jesus as their Lord, Savior, and Sovereign, and their culture began to change accordingly. They were so openly enthusiastic for Jesus that they even have a large 'CROSS' upon their flag, and have had for many centuries. And perhaps that essentially began for them in 1219 A.D., on June 15th, when the mysterious flag that was known as the Dannebrog ('Cloth of the Danes'? or a combination of the word for 'red' coupled with the word for 'white cloth ?) is said to have fallen to the ground during a battle which the Danes are said to have been losing.
The Flag of Denmark, the world's oldest continuously used national flag it is said, displaying their Christian heritage without hesitation!!
The Battle of Lindanisse was taking place in what is now part of Estonia, and the Danish King leading the conflict was Valdemar Sejr. His troops were not prevailing, had been ambushed successfully by the Estonians, had been barely saved by their Wendish allies from an utter route, and it still looked rather ominous. An Archbishop of Lund was praying with hands raised towards heaven, but was becoming heavy of arm and it was said that when his hands were raised it seemed the Danes made progress, but when he had to rest they lost ground. This is shades of Moses, and perhaps they should have allocated soldiers to hold up his arms, right? He finally became too tired to continue and all seemed lost. But then miraculously a flag of such pattern as is used today, said later to be made of lambskin, fell from the sky. This was taken as an encouraging sign of course, and with renewed vigor they hoisted it up on a standard pole and engaged their foe anew, and in the end they prevailed.
A thing like that does not ordinarily happen, does not happen now and did not happen naturally then, and so the flag became very famous among the Danes and through time became officially adopted by the Danish people. It is written that the original flag that fell from the sky was captured, later recaptured back, and was said to have hung on display in Schleswig Cathedral in northern Germany until it eventually rotted to pieces. Modern historians ascribe this entire story to myth and legend of course. Even so, I have read that modern Danish families still like to tell their children this version of events...though perhaps they think it just a quaint myth? Yet at one time in their history it was the explanation of how their flag came to be.
Soon enough both Norway and Sweden and Finland adopted flags that were similar in many ways. And so it is the basic format and design for the Scandinavian flags. These nations, bearing the cross of Jesus so prominently and unashamedly on their nations' flags, are among the most blessed of nations in our day. They are actually not too fervently religious anymore by their own admission, which is very sad. But they bear the symbol of Christ, and they rank very high among the nations of the world in over all standard of living. And the Danish people, for one instance, of the favor that I am speaking about, often rank at the top of the 'happiness' scale among all nations. I have seen the Danes at and near the top of such lists several times over the years though the metrics used from one list to another will usually vary.
The Flag of Finland, the Cross of Jesus displayed front and center. Good job, Finland.
The Flag of Norway, prominently displaying the Cross of Jesus. Way to go, Norway! Great testimony!
The Flag of calm but mighty Sweden, loudly proclaiming their emergence long ago as a Christian people, proud to belong to Jesus.
The hale and hardy people of rugged Iceland trumpet their allegiance to Jesus Christ.
The Faroe Islands flag leaves no argument concerning who is their Lord! (the black border was for contrast against this white page.)
The Flag of the United Kingdom is quite clear about who these storied peoples call their Lord. And many of their former colonies, on land and at sea, have retained the U.K. flag in part or whole upon their own, prominent nations such as New Zealand and Australia, and smaller islands of the Atlantic and Caribbean. Greece also bears a cross, as does Georgia. And there are perhaps 30 other nations. So it became a widespread practice, and there are an amazing number of the most successful nations which bear the cross on their flag.
Perhaps the Father more greatly blesses and sometimes protects nations that celebrate His Son?