New Mexico
Like Arizona’s state flag, New Mexico’s flag strayed far away from the traditional U.S. flag design. With its simplistic yet profound Zia symbol and vibrant colors, it doesn’t come by surprise that New Mexico was voted to having the ‘Best State Flag’ in a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association. In 1920, Dr. Harry Mera, a physician, and archeologist from Santa Fe, won a competition to create a new design for the state flag. Fascinated by the Zia sun symbol, he used it for inspiration. This symbol, scared to the Zia Native Americans, depicts the sun as a circle, representing the Circle of Life, with four groups of rays (with four rays in each group), radiating from it at right angles in four directions. In each group of rays, the two inner rays are longer than the two outer ones.
On New Mexico’s state flag, the Zia sun is bright red, centered on a brilliant yellow background. The colors were chosen to honor the Spanish who came to explore Mexico in the 1500s. You may have noticed the reappearance of the number four in the sun symbol. The number four is a sacred number to the Zia people, representing the four winds, four seasons, four directions, and four sacred obligations: a strong body, a clear mind, a pure spirit, and a devotion to the welfare of others.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire, named after Hampshire, England by Captain John Mason, became the ninth state to join the Union way back in 1788. Although the New Hampshire state flag has been in use since 1784, the state legislature officially adopted the flag in 1909.
The New Hampshire state flag features the State Seal on deep blue background. On the seal is the frigate Raleigh in front of the rising sun. The Raleigh is famous for being one of the first warships to carry the American flag in battle during the British in the Revolutionary War. If you look closely you'll spy a gray granite boulder near the ship, referencing the state nickname-“the Granite State". Around the frigate are the words “Seal of the State of New Hampshire” with the date “1776” below it. Encircling the seal are yellow laurel wreaths alternating with nine stars that symbolize New Hampshire as the ninth state admitted to the Union.
New Jersey
the first president of the United States, then General, George Washington, is credited with choosing the original colors of "the Garden State" flag- buff and 'New Jersey blue', in honor of the original Dutch settlers. The flag features the state seal, which includes many symbols.
The helmet and horse’s head is symbolic of New Jersey’s status as one of the first states as it was the third state to sign the U.S. Constitution. The two women holding the shield represent lady Liberty, holding a staff with a liberty cap and Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain, (and the love a mother bears for her child) who holds a cornucopia filled with the many fruits of the land grown in the state. The shield in between the two women also exhibits the state’s agriculture with three rows of plows. Beneath the shield is a ribbon that displays the state’s motto “Liberty and Prosperity” and “1776” the year New Jersey became a state.
New York
New York's state flag features the state seal, adopted back in 1788, on a blue background. It may sound redundant; however, the detail on the seal is a masterpiece in its own right. On either side of the coat of arms are two goddesses, Liberty, in a blue gown, holding a staff with a Liberty cap and Justice, in gold, blindfolded and holding her scales. They symbolize “Liberty and Justice for all,”. If you have a good eye for detail, you may have already noticed the discarded crown at Liberty's feet, symbolizing freedom from British control.
Above the shield, is an American eagle looking toward the west, sitting atop a globe, signifying New York’s unique place in the world, Western expansion, as well as opportunity and optimism. Below the seal appears a banner with the state motto, “Excelsior”, Latin for “Ever Upward”. On the shield itself, there are two ships sailing the Hudson River, with three mountains in the background, and a sun rising.
North Carolina
Red, white, and blue, with the state’s initials... North Carolina’s state flag is pretty straightforward but still manages to have a bold presence. A golden ribbon above the state initials "N" "C", separated by a white star, bears the date “May 20, 1775,” commemorating the “Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence,” the day residents declared themselves “free and independent people”. And a similar ribbon below displays the date “April 12, 1776,” the date of the “Halifax Resolves.” when the North Carolina delegates at the Continental Congress were to vote for independence.
Throughout the Civil War, the “The Old North State” Infantry carried a regimental and Confederate flag but besides that period, the 1885 design remains unchanged to this day.