First Ukrainian Flags Were Made in Jersey

Did You Know that the Annin Flag Company in New Jersey created the first Ukrainian flags.Known as one of the largest flagmakers in the world, the Annin Flag company has been designing and stitching all kinds of flags since their founding in the 1820s. Then they moved from NYC to Jersey in 1919 and the flag manufacturing business grew, making flags for the rest of the world. Let’s take a look.

Ukraine Independence – August 24, 1991

**August 24, 1991**. Kyiv, Ukraine. People cheering and lifting in the air **Levko Lukyanenko**, one of the authors of the Declaration and fearless fighter for Independence of Ukraine, right after proclaiming of Independence. Levko Lukyanenko was a great patriot and hero of Ukraine.Photo by UNIAN.

While reading the official history of the Annin Flag Company, their 100 year illustration noted 15 USSR states broke and became independent. Ukraine held a referendum on December 1, 1991. Demand to succeed the USSR rose for a happier reason that year: the end of the so-called Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which had simmered for almost 40 years. After the final dissolution of the Soviet Union, Annin employees found themselves working overtime to make flags for a new group of independent countries including Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, and the other 11 newly independent post-Soviet republics.

The referendum posed to the Ukrainian people was: “Do you support the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine?” A resounding 84.2 percent of the country participated with 93 percent voting in favor of Ukrainian independence from the USSR.

The blue and the yellow of Ukraine’s flag represent the country’s role as Europe’s breadbasket. Blue denotes the skies over the vast land, while yellow stands for the grain growing in the huge wheatfields beneath.

The Ukrainian Flag

The blue and yellow flag was officially approved as the state symbol of Ukraine on January 28, 1992. In August 2004, the President signed a letter decree establishing the Day of the National Flag of Ukraine which is celebrated annually on August 23. In Kyiv, it is also celebrated at the municipal level on July 24. It was on this day in 1990 that a blue and yellow flag was raised above the Kyiv City Hall.

Where Have Annin’s Flags Been?

Annin has been making flags in New Jersey since 1919.Their corporates headquarters is now localted30 Mountain Ave Suite 410, New Providence, NJ 07974 and in Roseland, New Jersey.

In company history, 1766 is most signiﬁcant not for William Annin’s stone house being built just of Lyons Road in the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township, New Jersey, but for the birth of Alexander Annin, the youngest son of William and the father of the Alexander Annin who started the Annin flag Company. Since their inception, Annin American flags have been THE dominant force behind flag making. Here are a few examples of their dominance:

Every Presidential funeral since Abraham Lincoln
Every Presidential inauguration since Lincoln
Iwo Jima flag raising
First American flag at the North Pole
First American flag at the South Pole
First American flag to top Mount Everest
First American flag on the Moon
Produced ALL the flags for the UN since inception
World Trade Center on 9-11

Go read the story on where all the Annin American flags have been. It’ll blow your mind!

The Annin Flag Company was also the first company to make all the world’s flags for the United Nations too!

No other flag company has been shown prominently than American flags made by the Annin Flag Company. In fact, in American history, if you saw an American flag, chances are it was an Annin flag. And it’s not just old glory that makes Annin proud, they’ve commissioned many other flags throughout American history. Take a look.

Annin is the largest American flag maker in the world, but they also made the first Ukrainian flag along with 14 other USSR states that broke from the Soviet Union.