<b>UPDATE: </b><a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/11/01/uae-schools-celebrate-emirati-values-on-flag-day/" target="_blank"><b>UAE schools and workplaces celebrate Emirati values on Flag Day</b></a> Citizens and residents alike will gather on Friday in a show of patriotic pride as the UAE marks its 12th annual <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/11/03/president-sheikh-mohamed-and-sultan-al-neyadi-lead-celebrations-on-uae-flag-day/" target="_blank">Flag Day</a>. The banner occasion was established in 2013 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to commemorate the accession of the late President <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2022/05/18/sheikh-khalifas-medical-legacy-transformed-uaes-cancer-care/" target="_blank">Sheikh Khalifa</a> in 2004 and has become a staple of the UAE calendar in the years since. It is typically marked on November 3, but with the date falling on a Sunday this year, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/10/30/sheikh-mohammed-flag-day/" target="_blank">Sheikh Mohammed</a> has called on the public to fly the flag on Friday to ensure as many people as possible can show their support. Members of the public, ministries, private companies and schools are being invited to raise the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/2023/11/03/uae-flag-day-2022-when/" target="_blank">flag</a> in unison at 11am. While not a public holiday, it is typically celebrated with greater fervour. Here, <i>The National</i> looks back at the origins of the event and the rules to know to fly the flag for the Emirates. Abdullah Al Maainah won a competition in <i>Al Ittihad</i> newspaper in 1971 to decide who would have the honour of designing the flag of the new nation. His entry was inspired by the poet, Safi-u-ddin Al Hali. The young Emirati intended the four colours of green, white, black and red to represent Arab unity, as described in Al Hali's works. His submission beat more than 1,000 entries to be selected to represent the new nation. Mr Al Maainah was 19 at the time and later went on to become the minister of foreign affairs. Two flags were raised in December 1971 to mark the formation of the nation – one in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/abu-dhabi/" target="_blank">Abu Dhabi</a>, the other at Union House in Dubai. The flag was flown <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/heritage/the-man-who-first-raised-the-uae-flag-at-the-united-nations-also-helped-with-the-country-s-framework-1.69512">at the UN headquarters</a> in New York on December 10, 1971. The flag’s four colours – known as the pan-Arab colours – each represent a different attribute. White stands for good deeds and generosity, green for growth and prosperity, black for strength, resilience and courage and red embodies the sacrifices made by previous generations of Emiratis in defence of the nation. The UAE has strict rules in place for the display of the UAE flag periodically updated and distributed by authorities. The Presidential Protocol and Strategic Narrative Authority has a <a href="https://u.ae/-/media/Documents-2nd-half-2023/NPO_UAEFLAG_Updated_12OCT23.pdf" target="_blank">detailed guidebook</a> available online on how to display the flag indoors and outdoors, and what is prohibited. Here are some of the rules in place to preserve the integrity of the national flag: