Ethiopia Flags – Ethiopian Flag, Lion of Judah Flag & Bunting

The Ethiopian flag: green, yellow, red and the blue disc

Green, yellow and red have been the colours of Ethiopia since the 1890s, when Menelik II flew them as three pennants and then, from 1897, as a horizontal tricolour, and because Ethiopia was the one African state never colonised they were adopted as pan-African colours by Ghana and a dozen others after 1957. The present national flag, adopted on 6 February 1996, adds a blue disc with a yellow five-pointed star radiating lines in the centre: the star for the unity of Ethiopia’s peoples, the rays for their equal prospects, the blue for peace. We stock it as the Ethiopia (with star) flag in 20x12in, 3ft x 2ft, 5ft x 3ft and 8ft x 5ft. The Ethiopia (no star) flag is the plain tricolour flown before 1996 and still widely used by the diaspora, and the Ethiopia with Lion flag carries the crowned Lion of Judah of the imperial era, the design adopted by the Rastafari movement after Haile Selassie’s coronation in 1930. All three are stocked side by side without preference.

Enkutatash, Timkat, the marathon and Ethiopians in Britain

The Ethiopian calendar gives the flag its own dates: Enkutatash, the New Year, on 11 September; Meskel, the finding of the True Cross, on 27 September with its bonfires; Genna, Christmas, on 7 January; and Timkat, Epiphany, on 19 January with the procession of the tabots. Adwa Victory Day on 2 March marks the 1896 defeat of the Italian invasion, and 28 May is National Day. Ethiopian and Eritrean communities in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield mark them at Orthodox churches, restaurants and community centres, and the marathon crowd brings Ethiopian flags to the London Marathon and the Great North Run every year for the distance runners. The Lion of Judah flag goes to reggae nights, sound systems and Rastafari gatherings alongside the Jamaica flag.

Which size Ethiopia flag?

5ft x 3ft is the size for a restaurant front, a church, a garden pole or a party; 3ft x 2ft for a bedroom, a stall or a short pole; 8ft x 5ft for a church flagpole or a stage; 20x12in for a car or a hand pole. All sizes have a sewn header and brass eyelets, with clips or a rope and toggle on the DuraFlag grade.

Flagtex or DuraFlag?

Flagtex is the printed woven polyester at £6.99 for a 5ft x 3ft, right for a festival, a race day or a restaurant wall. DuraFlag is the 150gsm knitted polyester with double-stitched hems and a reinforced header for a flag that flies outside a church or a community centre all year. Both are stocked in and dispatched from our Stoke-on-Trent warehouse on the same working day for orders before 2pm.

Ethiopia bunting

Ethiopia bunting carries the star flag on rectangular pennants in 3m and 9m lengths, and Lion of Judah bunting comes in the same two lengths for a reggae night or a Rastafari celebration, both on weatherproof polyester sewn to a tape. 3m frames a doorway or a coffee-ceremony table; 9m runs a restaurant or a hall for Enkutatash.

Hand flags and table flags

Ethiopia hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in for the marathon route, the Timkat procession and the school. The Ethiopia table flag with base is the 6x4in desk flag for a restaurant counter or an embassy office, with a wooden table flag, a satin table flag on a chrome base and a Lion of Judah satin table flag. Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and the rest of East Africa are under world flags.

Ethiopian flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Ethiopia Flag with Star (20x12in to 8x5ft)from £6.99
• Ethiopia Lion of Judah Flagfrom £6.99
• Ethiopia Plain Tricolour Flagfrom £7.99
• Ethiopia Bunting (3m, 9m)from £9.98
• Ethiopia Hand Flagsfrom £5.99
• Ethiopia Table Flag with Basefrom £1.98