By Victoria Gozha Group 11 – 1 Financial – economical lyceum Dnipropetrovs'k 2009

The Constitution states that the national symbols of Ukraine shall be the National Flag of Ukraine, the National Emblem of Ukraine and the National Anthem of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian flag consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width. The top is blue, the bottom is yellow. The colours of the National flag symbolize the gold wheat fields under the blue sky.

Blue and yellow colours were historically used on Ukrainian coats of arms and symbolized the Kyivan State even before the Rus was baptized. The coats of arms of the towns in the Kyiv region and generally throughout Ukraine were framed in the yellow-blue colours. Since the 17th century, the regimental and company banners of Cossacks were made of blue cloth with the cross, stars, weapons and images of saints drawn with yellow paint on it.

The yellow-blue flag was approved by the Central Rada on March 22th, Under the Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky’s government, the order of colors was altered to be blue-yellow. By the Decree, the Verkhovna Rada approved the blue-yellow flag to be the National Flag of Independent Ukraine on January 28th, 1992.

The National Emblem of Ukraine is a trident. The first image of a trident appeared in the 1st century AD. When Ihor, Prince of Kyivan Rus' from 912 to 945 AD, sent ambassadors to sign a treaty with the Byzantine emperor, they sealed the document with a trident. As the official emblem of the Kyivan princes, the trident was stamped on coins, seals; it was depicted on porcelain and in frescoes.

It is thought that the trident represented the division of the world into three spheres: the earthly, the celestial, and the spiritual as well as the union of the three natural elements of air, water and earth. The trident was endorsed as the official emblem of Ukraine on February, 19th, 1992.

The State Anthem of Ukraine, “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” (“Ukraine has not yet perished’) whose performance starts and ends the official ceremonies of the state importance, had been set to the music by Mykhailo Verbytsky and fragment of the verse by Pavlo Chubynsky. First published in 1885 in the Lviv music anthology “Kobzar”, it came to be used as the national anthem of the Ukrainian Republic in Throughout the course of the Soviet period of the Ukrainian history this national anthem was officially forced into oblivion.

On March 6, 2003, that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the Decree “On the State Anthem of Ukraine”. In accordance with it, the music of Mykhailo Verbytsky with only the first couplet and refrain of the Pavlo Chubynsky song “Ukraine's glory hasn't perished” was confirmed to be the State Anthem of the country.

Ukraine's glory hasn't perished, nor her freedom Upon us, fellow compatriots, fate shall smile once more. Our enemies will vanish, like dew in the morning sun, And we too shall rule, brothers, in a free land of our own. Refrain: We'll lay down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom, And we'll show that we, brothers, are of the Kozak nation.