The flag of Dominica was adopted on 3 November 1978, with some small changes having been made in 1981, 1988, and 1990. The original flag was designed by playwright Alwin Bully in early 1978 as the country prepared for independence. It is one of only three national flags (the other two being El Salvador and Nicaragua) that currently use purple. The green field represents the lush vegetation of the island. The cross represents the Trinity and Christianity, with its three colours symbolising the natives, the fertile soil, and the pure water. The 10 green five-pointed stars stand for the country's 10 parishes: (St Andrew, St David, St George, St John, St Joseph, St Luke, St Mark, St Patrick, St Paul, and St Peter), while the red disc stands for justice. The sisserou parrot is sometimes coloured either blue or purple (the parrot's actual colour). The use of purple makes the flag of Dominica one of only three flags of sovereign states (alongside the flag of Nicaragua and the flag of El Salvador) to contain the colour. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)