Flag of Maine

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State of Maine

Maine State Flag
Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	26:33
Adopted	February 23, 1909; 115 years ago (1909-02-23)
Design	A state coat of arms on a blue field.
Maine Merchant and Marine Flag
Use	Ensign
Adopted	March 16, 1939; 85 years ago (1939-03-16)
Design	Green pine tree with a blue anchor around its base on a white field with "DIRIGO" in blue above the pine tree and "MAINE" in blue below

The flag of Maine features the state coat of arms on a blue field. In the center of a heraldic shield, a moose rests under a tall pine tree. A farmer and seaman are meant to represent the traditional reliance on agriculture and the sea by the state. The North Star is intended to allude to the state motto: dirigo ('I lead').

The law establishing the flag was enacted on February 23, 1909, and was modeled after flags used in the American Civil War:

§206. State flag. The flag to be known as the official flag of the State shall be of blue, of the same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States, and of the following dimensions and designs; to wit, the length or height of the staff to be 9 feet, including brass spearhead and ferrule; the fly of said flag to be 5 feet 6 inches [1.68 m], and to be 4 feet 4 inches [1.32 m] on the staff; in the center of the flag there shall be embroidered in silk on both sides of the flag the coat of arms of the State, in proportionate size; the edges to be trimmed with knotted fringe of yellow silk, 2+1⁄2 inches [64 mm] wide; a cord, with tassels, to be attached to the staff at the spearhead, to be 8 feet 6 inches [2.59 m] long and composed of white and blue silk strands. A flag made in accordance with the description given in this section shall be kept in the office of the Adjutant General as a model.^[1]

The design commonly used omits the circular ring prescribed by Maine Law as a part of the Maine arms and moves the "Sea and Forest Scene" from the outside of the shield to the inside of the shield. No known flags of the state conform to the official description. The coat of arms has no official colors, so variations in coloration can be seen in flags from different manufacturers. The blue field, however, is specified to be the same blue as in the flag of the United States. According to the official description, the flag should have a fringe of yellow silk and should have a blue and white silk cord attached at the spearhead; these embellishments are very rarely observed.

The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) conducted a survey in 2001 that ranked Maine's current flag as one of the worst in design. Amongst the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags, Maine's flag ranked 60th (13th worst).^[2] NAVA criticized the unoriginality of "[state] seal on blue bed-sheet" design, which is currently used by over half of the flags of U.S. states; Maine is one of 26 U.S. states that use a blue flag with the state arms or seal on them.