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The red stripes symbolize the pure blood shed in the aim of liberation. The white stripe symbolizes peace, purity and the white snow covering Lebanon's mountains. The green cedar (Arz) (Species: Cedrus libani or Lebanon Cedar) symbolizes immortality and steadiness.

Most Lebanese flags hoisted or depicted in flag charts are not correct. According to the Constitution law of 7 December 1943, the three colours of the flag must be red, white and green. Branches and trunks of the cedar are usually coloured in brown for the sake of realism.

The Lebanese flag was raised in Bashamoun on the 21st of November 1943 at 11:20 pm. It is believed that this same flag is now kept in the National Museum, although it may have been transported to the Governmental Palace in Bteddine.

It is a common mistake to draw the branches of the cedar in brown or black. Nevertheless the mistake is unconstitutional. The cedar must be fully green.

The tree is the cedar traditionally connected with Lebanon. In the 18th century the Maronite Christians used a white flag with the cedar tree, with reference to the Bible (Psalms 92:12, "the righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon"). Later, when Lebanon was under French mandate, the French tricolour was used with a cedar tree in the middle. There is a reference in Smith 1982 to the colours, "The red and white colours are those associated, respectively, with the Kayssites and Yemenites, opposing clans that divided Lebanese society between 634 and 1711 AD".

Construction Sheet:
The flag of Lebanon is formed of two horizontal red stripes enveloping a horizontal white stripe. The white stripe is to be two times a red one (ratio 1:2:1). The green cedar in the middle touches each of the red stripes and its width is one third of the width of the flag. It was adopted on December 7, 1943. The current flag was first drawn in Deputy Saeb Salam's house in Mousaitbeh by the deputies of the Lebanese parliament.

Vertical Flag:
For special festive occasions, such as Independence Day, a Lebanese flag which is a variant on the horizontal flag is hoisted typically along light and telephone poles. It is a long vertical flag with vertical color fields, red-white-red, with the green cedar in the center, touching both reds. Most probably it is 5:2.

Unofficial Variants:
There is considerable variation in the depiction of the cedar; these are some of the more unusual ones spotted. Since the 1943 flag law specifies only the cedar's dimensions and color, not precise shade or artistic style, I suppose any design that is all-green, touches the top and bottom stripes, and stretches over one third of the flag's lenght is technically "valid."

History:
Through history, Lebanon, or at least its region, had taken the flag of the people who occupied it (Phoenician, Mamluk, Ottoman Empire)

In the 18th century the Maronites used a white flag with a cedar tree in the centre. It seems that in the First World War, Lebanese nationalists added the red stripes, representing firstly, the martyrs' blood, and secondly, red and white were the colours of the Lebanese Legion, which, formed by the French in 1916, was the forerunner of the Lebanese Army.

French Mandate of Lebanon:
During the French Mandate of Lebanon, the Lebanese flag was designed by the president of the Lebanese Renaissance Movement, the late Naoum Mukarzel. It was similar to the tricolour flag of France but with a Cedar in the middle.

At independence, Lebanon used as national flag the French national flag (vertically divided blue-white-red) with a cedar in the middle. On 11 November 1943, street demonstrations took place because the French authorities had jailed Presidents Bechara al Khoury and Riad al-Solh as well as other Ministers. Seven Deputees – Henri Pharaon, Maroun Kanaan, Saêb Salam, Sabri Hamadé, Rachid Beydoun, Saadi al-Mounla, and Mohamed al-Fadl – forced an entry into the Lebanese Parliament, where they decided to design a new national flag for Lebanon. The new (and current) national flag was designed by Henri Pharaon.

In 1979, the Minister of National Education, Boutros Harb, decided that 21 November should be the National Flag Day.

When Lebanon pronounced its independence, the men who declared independence drew a color pencil sketch. They got rid of the blue and made the stripes horizontal. The vertical stripes became horizontal to move away from the French vertical design.