FINLAND
From the 12th century until the early 19th century, Finland belonged to Sweden. After gaining its independence in 1917, it adopted a national flag with a Scandinavian cross that was based on the Swedish flag.
Finnish sailing clubs had already flown the same flag half a century earlier, when Finland was still under Russian domination.
The first person to suggest blue and white as the national colours was the poet Zachris Topelius in 1862. The following year the daily newspaper Helsingfors Dagblad proposed a white flag with a blue cross.
Blue stands for the lakes and the sky and white for the snow-covered earth.