When I'm serving guests and we're chatting it up, most people will have a question or two about something.
With that in mind, I've decided to use this blog as an opportunity to post those questions and their answers. Every few days I'll answer a new one. So stay tuned to ease your curiosity!
Yesterday, I was asked a question I am ashamed to say I did not know the answer to. Not because I know everything (close, haha!) but because it's a question I simply should know the answer to. And here it is:
I had a very petite soft-spoken American lady in for lunch. She ordered a BLT. On top of our sandwiches we always put a little miniature Newfoundland flag toothpick. A lot of folks like to take them away for souvenirs. And besides, they're just so darn cute! Anyways, she was munching away at her sandwich and looking intently at the little flag, twirling it between her thumb and forefinger. I approached the table to check how things were going when she said, "Such an interesting flag...What is the history behind it?"
Gah! I stood there, stuttered and stammered (I hate not knowing answers to questions), and my only reply to her could be, "Ashamedly, I do not know, I'm sorry." She looked up and whispered, "Well I won't tell on you". I'm fairly certain, had we offered her an overhead projector, at that moment she would have proceeded to invite the remaining guests and employees alike to join her in a presentation on the history of HER flag, complete with details regarding the many changes the flag has underwent with the addition of various States and which Presidents were in office at that particular time.
In fact, I, ashamedly again, know more of the American flag than I do my own, Country or Province. Not good.
So....here it is, after much reading and researching to abate my ignorance, from the Wikipedia link to the "Flag of Newfoundland" :
The flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980, and was designedAnd now you know too!
by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt. The flag design, with the proportions 2:1, was approved by the House of Assembly of the province of Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada, on May 28, 1980. It was flown for the first time on Discovery Day; June 24, 1980. The design was chosen due to its broad symbolism. The blue colour represents the sea, the white colour represents snow and ice of winter, the red colour represents the effort and struggle of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and the
gold colour symbolizes the confidence Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have in
themselves and for the future. The blue triangles are meant as a tribute to
the Union Flag, and stand for the British heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador. The two red triangles are meant to represent the two areas of the province — the mainland and the island. The gold arrow, according to Pratt, points towards a "brighter future"; the arrow becomes a sword, honouring the sacrifices of Newfoundlanders in military service when the flag is draped as a vertical banner. The red triangles and the gold arrow form a trident, symbolizing the province's
dependence on its fisheries and the resources of the sea.[1]
