Wales is known as the Red Dragon (Welsh: Y Ddraig Goch), featuring a prominent red dragon on its national flag, which was officially adopted in 1959. The symbol has ancient origins, representing Welsh heritage, independence, and pride for centuries, often associated with legends of battling an invading white dragon.
The dragon on the Welsh flag (Y Ddraig Goch) symbolizes Welsh identity, resilience, and sovereignty, stemming from ancient legends, Roman military standards, and King Henry Tudor's use of it at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, cementing its place as a national emblem representing the ancient Britons (red dragon) overcoming invading Saxons (white dragon).
Over the years the red dragon has become a symbol of Wales, with various interpretations of Y Ddraig Goch (the red dragon) seen on the shirts of our national sports teams, on our food exported around the world and flying proudly in our towns and cities.
Graham Bartram, of the Flag Institute, said: "The Welsh flag we know today - a large red dragon on a white and green background - only came into being in 1959. "But, in fact, the red dragon as an emblem has been used in Wales since the reign of Cadwaladr (Cadwallader), King of Gwynedd from around 655AD."
The Red Dragon ("Y Ddraig Goch" in Welsh) was Merlin's symbol for the ancient Britons of his time and it can still be seen today on the national flag of Wales, my home country and the land of my ancestors before me.
Worship of the Dragon god is celebrated throughout China with sacrifices and processions during the fifth and sixth moons, and especially on the date of his birthday the thirteenth day of the sixth moon.
In the Mabinogion story Llydd and Llefelys, a fierce red dragon fights with an invading white dragon, and the dragons' cries are so piercing and loud that they cause plants to wither, animals to curl up and die and women to miscarry their unborn babies.
The Welsh dragon does not appear on the Union Flag. This is because when the first Union Flag was created in 1606, the Principality of Wales by that time was already united with England and was no longer a separate principality. The Union Flag was originally a Royal flag.
The leek. Before there was the daffodil, there was the humble leek. This root vegetable is so well established as part of Welsh culture that wearing a leek to signify you come from Wales is noted as an 'ancient tradition' in William Shakespeare's Henry V, first performed in the 16th century.
Think of St George and you're probably picturing a heroic knight slaying a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon. As the country's patron saint, today St George's story is as iconic as his white and red flag.
Therefore, while the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are joined, the Principality of Wales is officially a part of the Kingdom of England. Following this same reasoning, Wales has no representation on the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom.
You probably know that England's national animal is the lion but did you know that two of the UK's nations actually have mythical creatures as their national animals? Wales has the red dragon yet an actual dragon. It's been a symbol of Welsh strength and resilience for centuries.
It was only officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959 but the version we know today was in fact only defined in law in 2005. Graham Bartram, an expert in flags said the flag is "unique" and a "symbol of Welsh identity".
According to Pottermore, the book covers all dragon species living in Great Britain and Ireland, including the Hebridean Black and the Welsh Green. However, these are the only known dragons that live in Britain.
Furthermore, nāgas are also known as dragons and water spirits. A female nāga is called a Nagini (Hindi: Nagin). According to legend, they are the children of the sage Kashyapa and Kadru. Rituals devoted to these supernatural beings have been taking place throughout South Asia for at least 2,000 years.
Bhutan means 'Dragon Country' in Bhutanese, and because of this, the country is known as the 'Land of the Thunder Dragon. ' It gets this name from the thunder dragon which is named Druk and is the dragon that is on the Bhutanese flag.
Traditionally, the sound of thunder in the many mountains and valleys of Bhutan is believed to be the voice of dragons, and the country is known as the “Land of the Thunder Dragon” in its native language.
