Flag Raising Ceremony, also referred to as the hoisting of the Golden Arrow Head, is a symbolic act performed on two separate occasions each year in the country of Guyana, South America.
The first Flag Raising Ceremony took place on Midnight of May 25th 1966 – or just at the dawn of Guyana’s first Independence Day – the break of May 26th, 1966. On the first ever Flag Raising Ceremony, the Union Jack, the flag of British Guiana during colonial rule, was lowered, and the Golden Arrow Head, the current flag of Guyana as an independent nation, was ceremoniously hoisted.
Upon gaining Independence from the British Empire in May 26th, 1966, the former British colony changed its name to “Guyana” which means “land of many waters.” Four years later, on February 23rd, 1970, Guyana became a Republic, and was officially renamed, “the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.” Nevertheless, in normal speech and writing, the country is referred to by the shortened form, “Guyana.”
Flag Raising Ceremony takes place two times per year in the country of Guyana: first on the midnight of February 22nd to usher in Republic Day (February 23rd) and on the midnight of May 25th to usher in Independence Day each year. The ceremony is held in the capital city, Georgetown, and at various towns across Guyana.
