FlagAndMap Weblog

Several nations have national days in December. FlagAndMap gifts with national flag and map designs are a fun way to to make the following dates even more special for friends from these countries.
Dec 1, National Day in Centrafrique
Dec 1, Union Day in Romania
Dec 2, National Day in the United Arab Emirates
Dec 2, National Day in Laos
Dec 5, King’s Birthday in Thailand
Dec 6, Independence Day in Finland
Dec 12, Jamhuri Day in Kenya
Dec 13, Republic Day in Malta
Dec 13, Independence Day in Saint Lucia
Dec 16, Independence Day in Bahrain
Dec 17, National Day in Bhutan
Dec 18, Republic Day in Niger
Dec 18, National Day in Qatar
Dec 20, National Day in Guyane

It’s the same challenge every holiday season - how to find gifts that are affordable but a little bit special and different. It’s a problem that FlagAndMap wants to help you solve. We’ve recently introduced some new products that make ideal gifts, such as necklaces, ties and gift boxes. This is of course in addition to our perennial best sellers such as t-shirts and mugs.

The especially nice thing about all of these items is that not only are the designs targeted to a particular nationality or heritage but they can also be personalized by the customer. All these products are offered through the Zazzle print on demand platform which readily allows the purchaser to add their own text (or even images) at no extra cost. So you can add a name or a message to the design, which gives your gift that extra special touch and solves the problem of finding something unique.

Several nations have national days in November. Add a personal touch to the customizable gifts available at FlagAndMap and surprise your friends from these countries on the following dates.
Nov 1, National Day in Algeria
Nov 1, Independence Day in Antigua and Barbuda
Nov 3, Independence Day in Micronesia
Nov 3, Independence Day in Dominica
Nov 3, Separation Day in Panama
Nov 9, Independence Day in Cambodia
Nov 11, Independence Day in Angola
Nov 11, Independence Day in Poland
Nov 18, Independence Day in Latvia
Nov 18, National Day in Oman
Nov 19, National Day in Monaco
Nov 22, Independence Day in Lebanon
Nov 25, Independence Day in Suriname
Nov 28, Independence Day in Mauritania
Nov 28, Independence Day in Albania
Nov 30, Independence Day in Barbados
Nov 30, St. Andrew’s Day in Scotland

Several nations have national days in October. FlagAndMap offers a wide range of customizable gifts that will help make the following dates even more special for friends from these countries.
Oct 1, Independence Day in Nigeria
Oct 1, Independence Day in Tuvalu
Oct 1, National Day in China
Oct 1, Independence Day in Cyprus
Oct 3, Unity Day in Germany
Oct 3, Independence Day in Iraq
Oct 4, Independence Day in Lesotho
Oct 9, Independence Day in Uganda
Oct 10, Fiji Day in Fiji
Oct 10, Double Ten Day in Taiwan
Oct 12, Independence Day in Equatorial Guinea
Oct 12, National Day in Spain
Oct 23, Republic Day in Hungary
Oct 24, Independence Day in Zambia
Oct 25, Republic Day in Kazakhstan
Oct 26, National Day in Austria
Oct 27, Independence Day in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Oct 27, Independence Day in Turkmenistan
Oct 28, Independence Day in Czechia
Oct 29, Republic Day in Turkey

The recently completed Athletics World Championships held at Daegu, South Korea, provided another exciting opportunity to enjoy multinational sporting competition at the very highest level. There were some superb individual performances and a thrilling finale as Jamaica took the 4×100m relay title with a new world record time. Our congratulations go to the organizers and all the athletes who participated and made this event such a success. The only question that remains is, ‘who won?’

By ‘who won?’ we mean which nation and, just as with the Commonwealth Games 11 months ago, we’re curious to see if it’s possible to compare national performances so that all countries, regardless of vastly differing resources, have a chance to come out on top. This time we have used the results provided in the final placing table to calculate a results score that is then adjusted for national GDP in a way that minimizes the spread of results. It’s not an exact science and we’ll skip the fine details but we think that the resulting GDP adjusted ranking is quite plausible and makes for interesting reading.

So on the basis of this analysis we declare Kenya the winners with Jamaica the runners up and we suspect that few people would quibble with this. Both relatively small nations excelled in their favorite disciplines. Russian athletes also performed well and did enough to move ahead of the better resourced USA team in our GDP adjusted ranking. Also noteworthy are two very small nations, Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis, both of which made our top ten. So please take a look at the ranking to see how your favorite nation fared and how good their prospects might be for next year’s Olympics.

Many nations have national days in September. A personalized gift from FlagAndMap might make the following dates even more special for friends from these countries.
Sep 1, Independence Day in Uzbekistan
Sep 1, National Day in Libya
Sep 1, Constitution Day in Slovakia
Sep 2, National Day in Vietnam
Sep 6, Independence Day in Swaziland
Sep 7, Independence Day in Brazil
Sep 8, Independence Day in Macedonia
Sep 8, National Day in North Korea
Sep 8, Our Lady of Meritxell Day in Andorra
Sep 9, Independence Day in Tajikistan
Sep 12, National Day in Cape Verde
Sep 15, Independence Day in Costa Rica
Sep 15, Independence Day in El Salvador
Sep 15, Independence Day in Guatemala
Sep 15, Independence Day in Honduras
Sep 15, Independence Day in Nicaragua
Sep 16, Grito de Dolores in Mexico
Sep 16, Independence Day in Papua New Guinea
Sep 18, National Day in Chile
Sep 19, Independence Day in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sep 21, Independence Day in Malta
Sep 21, Independence Day in Belize
Sep 22, National Day in Mali
Sep 23, National Day in Saudi Arabia
Sep 24, Independence Day in Guinea-Bissau
Sep 30, Independence Day in Botswana

We are pleased to announce our first batch of products with designs that include a 2012 calendar. For example, our 2012 calendar mousepads provide you with a date planner right at your fingertips, whereas our 2012 calendar postcards help you stay in touch with friends while sending them something useful at the same time. As ever these designs have national themes incorporating flags and maps so you will be reminded of your favorite nation as you keep your dates straight throughout the year.

FlagAndMap stickers are a great way to give a shout-out to your home nation or favorite destination. We have recently added flag and map designs to more sticker shapes, so whether you want round, square or heart-shaped we should have something that will suit you. So go ahead and stick up for your nation on a text book, a binder, a bag or wherever works for you. Here are a few examples:

Many nations have national days in August. Be appropriately dressed with apparel from FlagAndMap when celebrating on the following dates with friends from these countries.
Aug 1, Independence Day in Benin
Aug 1, National Day in Switzerland
Aug 5, Independence Day in Burkina Faso
Aug 6, Independence Day in Bolivia
Aug 7, Independence Day in Cote d’Ivoire
Aug 9, National Day in Singapore
Aug 10, Independence Day in Ecuador
Aug 11, Independence Day in Chad
Aug 14, Independence Day in Pakistan
Aug 15, Independence Day in Congo-Brazzaville
Aug 15, National Day in Liechtenstein
Aug 15, National Day in South Korea
Aug 15, Independence Day in India
Aug 16, Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic
Aug 17, Independence Day in Gabon
Aug 17, Independence Day in Indonesia
Aug 19, National Day in Afghanistan
Aug 20, St. Stephen’s Day in Hungary
Aug 24, Independence Day in Ukraine
Aug 25, Independence Day in Uruguay
Aug 27, Independence Day in Moldova
Aug 29, National Uprising Day in Slovakia
Aug 30, Constitution Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Aug 31, Hari Merdeka in Malaysia
Aug 31, Independence Day in Kyrgyzstan
Aug 31, Independence Day in Trinidad and Tobago

FlagAndMap welcomes South Sudan to the family of nations. In January 2011 after decades of conflict the people of Sudan’s southern region were finally given the opportunity to vote on independence, which they approved by an overwhelming majority. This independence will be realized on July 9, 2011 and will bring into existence the world’s newest nation with a population of some 8 million and a land area slightly larger than Spain and Portugal combined.

FlagAndMap wishes the people of South Sudan stability and prosperity in the years ahead and has already created products for South Sudan with designs featuring the national flag and physical map of South Sudan. A few examples are shown below.