What do the colors of the Poland flag mean?

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White and red were officially adopted as national colors in 1831. They are of heraldic origin and derive from the tinctures (colors) of the coats of arms of the two constituent nations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, i.e. the White Eagle of Poland and the Pursuer (Lithuanian: Vytis, Polish: Pogoñ) of Lithuania, a white knight riding a white horse, both on a red shield. Prior to that, Polish soldiers wore cockades of various color combinations. The national flag was officially adopted in 1919. Since 2004, Polish Flag Day is celebrated on May 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Poland Oct 14 08, 4:44 PM

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The national colors are white and red in two horizontal parallel strips of equal width and length, the upper strip being white and the lower red. Both strips linked together make up the national flag whose length-to-width ratio is 8:3. The Polish flag dates back to the mediaeval pennants. At first it was all red with a white eagle. Such a flag, or rather a banner, was at the side of King Wladyslaw Jagiello during the Battle of Grunwald in 1410. The red and white colors appeared together as late as the 17th century. The banner of Zygmunt III Vasa (d. 1632) consisted of three strips: the upper and the bottom ones being red, and the one in the middle - white. The banners of Wladyslaw IV (d. 1648) and Jan Casimir (d. 1668) were made up of four strips - the upper and the third from top being red and the second from top and the bottom one being white. The banners bore the official crest of the State. During the reign of August II (d. 1706), white ribbons were introduced in the army (according to the Saxon pattern) as the signs of prime national color. They were attached to the left side of the headgear with ornamental pins. During the Four-Year Sejm (1788-1792) first red-and-white ribbons appeared. The Sejm formally introduces Polish national colors during the November Uprising, on February 7, 1831. The colors were white and red, and were used in the national uprisings of the 19th century is the form of white-and-red ribbons. They were officially recognized as state colours in 1919 after Poland had regained her independence. http://flagspot.net/flags/pl.html#colors Oct 14 08, 8:53 PM