What happened to flags on 1 January
3 flags in the atlas carry this date. The sentence under each one is where that is written down, in its own article.
- United Kingdom 1801
The original specification of the Union Flag in the royal proclamation of 1 January 1801 did not contain a drawn pattern or express which way the saltires should lie; they were simply "counterchanged" and the red saltire fimbriated.
From Union Jack on Wikipedia, as it read on 2026-08-29
- Palau 1981
The Flag of Palau was adopted on 1 January 1981, when the island group separated from the United Nations Trust Territory.
From Flag of Palau on Wikipedia, as it read on 2026-08-26
- Estonia 2006
On 7 July 1992 the shade of blue was further defined as Pantone code 285 C. The most recent Estonian Flag Act was passed 23 March 2005 and came into force on 1 January 2006.
From Flag of Estonia on Wikipedia, as it read on 2026-08-29
How a day gets onto this site
A flag is here because a sentence in its own English Wikipedia article puts it on this date, and that sentence is printed above. Nothing was worked out from a year, and nothing was written for the occasion. Every sentence names the article it came from and the version of that article it was read in, so you can go and check it.
The calendar is still short rather than full. A third of the year has no page here, because a flag only gets a day when a sentence in its article puts something on one, and plenty of articles never do. Nothing is invented to fill the gap.