Kurdistan Flags – Kurdish Flag, Bunting & Hand Flags

The Kurdistan flag: three bands and a 21-ray sun

The Kurdish flag, the Alaya Rengîn or colourful flag, has three horizontal bands of red, white and green with a golden sun at the centre. The sun has 21 rays of equal length, a number tied to Newroz on 21 March and to the traditions of the region, and it is a sun rather than a star, which is the detail that most often goes wrong on badly drawn versions. The design dates to the 1920s and was used by the Republic of Mahabad in 1946; the version with the 21-ray sun has been the official flag of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since 1992 and its Flag Day is 17 December. Red is usually read as sacrifice, white as peace and green as the mountains and plains of the Kurdish homeland. Our Kurdistan flag keeps the sun centred with all 21 rays distinct, and the three bands of equal depth in a 2:3 shape.

Newroz, Flag Day and the UK community

Newroz, the spring new year on 21 March, is the biggest Kurdish gathering of the calendar: bonfires, dancing in a line, picnics in traditional dress, and flags on every car and every stage. In the UK the largest celebrations are in London, in Haringey and Hackney, in Birmingham and in Manchester, and the councils in several boroughs now fly the flag for the week. Kurdistan Flag Day on 17 December is marked with the flag on homes, cafés and community centres, and the flag also turns out for the Kurdish film festival, for weddings and for Kurdish football tournaments between the community clubs.

Which size of Kurdistan flag

The 5ft x 3ft is the standard size for a pole, a balcony or the wall behind a stage; 3ft x 2ft sits on a shorter pole or across a shop window; 8ft x 5ft covers the back of a hall for Newroz; and 20x12in is a car or hand-pole size. Flagtex is the lighter printed polyester for indoor use and shorter spells outside, and DuraFlag is the knitted heavyweight with reinforced hems for a flag that will be up for weeks. Every size has a sewn header and brass eyelets, with clip and rope-and-toggle fittings offered on the DuraFlag.

Kurdistan bunting

Kurdistan bunting comes in 3m and 9m runs of rectangular pennants sewn to a tape, printed in the same red, white, green and gold as the flag. A 3m run frames a doorway or the front of a stall; a 9m run goes along a hall wall or around a marquee for a wedding or a Newroz picnic. The pennants are polyester and the print is on both faces, so the bunting reads correctly from either side.

Hand flags and table flags

Kurdistan hand flags on wooden sticks come in 9x6in and 18x12in, the small size for children at the picnic and the large one for the front of the dance line. The Kurdistan table flag is 6x4in on a base for a desk or a restaurant counter, and the large wooden table flag at 18x12in is the one for a community centre reception. Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria flags are all under world flags.

Kurdish flag FAQs

Popular in this collection

• Kurdistan Flag (20x12in to 8x5ft, Flagtex or DuraFlag)from £6.99
• Kurdistan Bunting (3m or 9m)from £9.98
• Kurdistan Hand Flags (9x6in, 18x12in)from £5.99
• Kurdistan Table Flag 6x4in with Basefrom £1.98
• Kurdistan Large Wooden Table Flagfrom £3.98