{"id":2879,"date":"2015-12-24T08:41:07","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T13:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?p=2879"},"modified":"2024-06-17T14:42:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T18:42:13","slug":"waving-flag-christmasisland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/","title":{"rendered":"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Christmas<\/a>
Christmas Island flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song, sung by crooner Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in the 1940s, folk artist Leon Redbone more recently, and even Jimmy Buffet. But none of them performed it while waving the Christmas Island flag.<\/p>\n

\"Christmas<\/a>
Christmas Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They\u2019re both real \u2013 the island and its flag. A 19th-century New York City newspaper described Christmas Island as \u201ca coral lagoon island situated south of Fanning\u2019s Island.\u201d If that doesn\u2019t help, Christmas Island\u2019s own website says that it\u2019s \u201ca dot in the Indian Ocean, located\u2026northwest of Perth, Western Australia,\u201d and southwest of Singapore.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A beach on Christmas Island<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That dot hasn\u2019t always belonged to Australia<\/a>. It was first spotted by British and Dutch explorers in the 17th century, and a sighting on December 25, 1643, led to its being named for the holy day.<\/p>\n

\"British<\/a>
British flag<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many decades passed before a British flag<\/a> rose on the small isle in 1888 as a formal claim of ownership. It was hoisted by Admiral William May. In 1937, Great Britain re-asserted its rights when the U.S. took an interest in the outpost. In 1958, Christmas Island was formally put under Australia\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

More years passed before the tiny dot got its own big flag. That happened, sort of, in 1986, nearly a century after Admiral May\u2019s British flag-raising. That year, Tony Couch, an Australian who had once worked on Christmas Island, entered a contest to create its flag and won. For his efforts, he received $100, but not immediate acceptance of the banner. That was delayed until 2002.<\/p>\n

\"Admiral<\/a>
Admiral May<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Christmas Island flag, a colorful and decorative banner, is as filled with images as a Christmas stocking is jammed with candy:<\/p>\n

*The Southern Cross constellation sprinkles the lower left with white stars;<\/p>\n

*A golden bosun bird, displaying its long, graceful tail and wings, flies off the right side;<\/p>\n

*A map of the island, which somewhat resembles a dog\u2019s silhouette, lies in a disc in the middle;<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A bosun bird<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

*Two main hues, green and blue, dominate the banner\u2019s coloring and stand for the Pacific Ocean and the island\u2019s vegetation.<\/p>\n

The pop song about the holiday isle ends with these lyrics: \u201cIf you ever spend Christmas on Christmas Island\/You will never stray, for ev\u2019ry day\/Your Christmas dreams come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe your 2016 Christmas dream will include the gift of an unusual flag<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song, sung by crooner Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in the 1940s, folk artist Leon Redbone more recently, and even Jimmy Buffet. But none of them performed it while waving the Christmas Island flag. They\u2019re both real… continue<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[326,327,166,325,4],"class_list":["post-2879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-lessons","tag-australia","tag-british","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-island-flag","tag-flag"],"yoast_head":"\nWaving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song. But not sung while waving the Christmas Island flag.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song. But not sung while waving the Christmas Island flag.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-12-24T13:41:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-17T18:42:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"639\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Breig\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/\",\"name\":\"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-24T13:41:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-17T18:42:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/048662cff3dee1c17360c4683b5fe03a\"},\"description\":\"\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song. But not sung while waving the Christmas Island flag.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg\",\"width\":700,\"height\":639,\"caption\":\"Christmas Island\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/048662cff3dee1c17360c4683b5fe03a\",\"name\":\"James Breig\",\"description\":\"James Breig is a veteran author who specializes in history. His most recent book is \u201cStar-Spangled Baseball: True Tales of Flags and Fields\u201d about the links between the sport and flags. He is also the author of a nonfiction book about WWII, \\\"Searching for Sgt. Bailey: Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II\\\" and co-author of \\\"The Mystery of the Multiple Mothers,\\\" a novel. All three are available at www.amazon.com. His articles have appeared in newspapers and national magazines, including the Colonial Williamsburg Journal (search for them at www.history.org\/journal) and History Magazine. He has won many national awards for his opinion writing, media columns and feature articles.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/author\/james\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is","description":"\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song. But not sung while waving the Christmas Island flag.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is","og_description":"\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song. But not sung while waving the Christmas Island flag.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/","og_site_name":"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","article_published_time":"2015-12-24T13:41:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-17T18:42:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":700,"height":639,"url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Breig","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Breig","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/","name":"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-24T13:41:07+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-17T18:42:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/048662cff3dee1c17360c4683b5fe03a"},"description":"\u201cHow\u2019dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?\u201d Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song. But not sung while waving the Christmas Island flag.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Christmas-Island.jpg","width":700,"height":639,"caption":"Christmas Island"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/waving-flag-christmasisland\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Waving a flag on Christmas\u2026Island, that is"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/","name":"Gettysburg Flag Works Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/048662cff3dee1c17360c4683b5fe03a","name":"James Breig","description":"James Breig is a veteran author who specializes in history. His most recent book is \u201cStar-Spangled Baseball: True Tales of Flags and Fields\u201d about the links between the sport and flags. He is also the author of a nonfiction book about WWII, \"Searching for Sgt. Bailey: Saluting an Ordinary Soldier of World War II\" and co-author of \"The Mystery of the Multiple Mothers,\" a novel. All three are available at www.amazon.com. His articles have appeared in newspapers and national magazines, including the Colonial Williamsburg Journal (search for them at www.history.org\/journal) and History Magazine. He has won many national awards for his opinion writing, media columns and feature articles.","url":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/author\/james\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2879"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5214,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions\/5214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gettysburgflag.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}