At this time the brothers had created a political group that would later become the Basque Nationalist Party. On July 14, 1894 they inaugurated the batzoki called “Euskedun Batzokiya” as a cultural society (to avoid problems with the Spanish government) and at the hands of Ciriaco de Iturri, the ikurri\u00f1a was hoisted for the first time in history with its current colors (designed by the Arana brothers), but representing Bizkaia. <\/p>\n
The colors had the following meaning:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Red background: it referred to the coat of arms of Bizkaia and represented the people of Bizkaia. Later, it represented the Basque people. <\/li>\n
- The green cross: represented independence based on two elements;\n
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- The tree of Gernika, defending the Biscayan charter.<\/li>\n
- The green cross of San Andr\u00e9s, refers to the battle that took place in Padura (Battle of Padura) in the year 870 on the day of San Andr\u00e9s between the Bizkainos of that time and the Astunes. The rocky terrain was stained with blood and from that battle the place began to be called “Arrigorriaga” (red stone). The Bizkainos were victorious and it is said that from that time onwards nationalism and identity as a people increased (this territory was in the hands of the Kings of Leon and Castile). <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
- The white cross: it represented God.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
A few years later, the ikurri\u00f1a became the symbol of Euskal Herria and in 1936 it was presented as the official flag of the Basque Country. Unfortunately, that same year there was a coup d’\u00e9tat in Spain led by Francisco Franco and it was banned and severely persecuted throughout the dictatorship. <\/p>\n
After Franco’s death, the display of the flag of the Basque Country was still forbidden, but little by little it was resurfacing within the Basque population. An example of this occurred in the match between Athletic Club de Bilbao and Real Sociedad on December 5, 1976, when the captains of both teams took the ikurri\u00f1a onto the field before the start of the match. <\/p>\n
![\"Ikurri\u00f1a\"](\"http:\/\/turismovasco.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/kortabarriaikurric3b1airibar1976-300x257.jpg\")