The flag's designer, Eric Hart, named the flag "First Light." The name is pulled from an accompanying written piece authored by Hart during the flag's creation titled, "The First Light Credo."

• Symbolizes the Six-Nations of the Haudenosaunee, of which the Onondaga Nation plays a central role.
• Symbolizes the six historical names by which Syracuse has been known: Salt Point, Webster’s Landing, Bogardus Corners, Milan, South Salina, and Cossits’ Corners (not incl. Corinth).
• Symbolizes the Sun, a guiding light, the North Star.
• Its central placement on the flag marks Syracuse’s central location in New York.

• Symbolizes the hills of Onondaga. The word onoñda’gega’ means, “people of the hills” in the Onondaga language. The left, azure blue triangle is the hill westward toward W. Seneca Trpk. or Hiawatha Lake. The right, navy blue triangle is the hill eastward toward E. Seneca Trpk. or Thornden Park. The space between the triangles is the Onondaga Valley.

• Symbolizes the sunrise over the Onondaga Valley. This is described in a line from Syracuse University’s Alma Mater, ”…where the vale of Onondaga meets the Eastern sky.” Represents a new day, a bright future, and good fortunes ahead.

• Symbolizes history of using the Sun to pull white salt from our salt springs. It also represents the Sun warming during our cold, white winters.

• Symbolizes the Roman numeral “V” indicating the five Syracuse Common Council Districts. It also represents “The V-Sign,” international symbol for peace and friendship.

• Symbolic of the city’s past, present and future. The left triangle points to the past. The central triangle points to the present. The right triangle points toward the future. It represents Syracuse across the ages. Syracuse: for now and forever.

• Symbolic of: The Sun, Regeneration, Restoration, Courage, Passion, Creativity

• Symbolic of: Salt, Snow, Peace, Purity

• Symbolic of: Onondaga Lake, the Erie Canal, Perseverance, Intelligence

• Symbolic of: The hills of Onondaga, Trust, Loyalty, Industriousness

A visual breakdown of the symbolism is available on firstlightflag.com/symbolism.

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  Aspect ratio rules.
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  Triangle construction rules.
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  Star construction rules.
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  Accepted star placement & scale diagram.
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  Accepted colors diagram.
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  Acceptable ways to extend the bottom edge.

The flag can be displayed in three aspect ratios:

• 1:2 (The width is 2x as long as its height).
• 3:5 (The width is 5/3x as long as its height).
• 2:3 (The width is 1.5x as long as its height).

Both triangles must be right triangles.

• The hoist-side triangle forms a 90-degree angle in the bottom-left corner of the flag. Its hypotenuse extends from the upper-left corner down to the midpoint of the bottom edge of the flag.

• The fly-end triangle forms a 90-degree angle in the bottom-right corner of the flag. Its hypotenuse extends from the upper-right corner down to the midpoint of the bottom edge of the flag.

• The angles opposite of the vertical legs of both right triangles must meet precisely at the midpoint of the bottom edge of the flag.

• The acute angles of the right triangles will differ depending on which aspect ratio is used.

The star must have six points.

• The six points consist of six identical acute triangles whose vertices open toward the center of the star at 37 degrees.

• The star's vertical placement is determined by stacking 11 identically sized stars vertically, point to point on the midline, and identifying the 5th star from the top as the “source star.”
• The star must be scaled proportionally from the center of the “source star” at a scale of +7.0x.
• The star must be center-aligned along the x-axis.

• The star's vertical placement is determined by stacking 9 identically sized stars vertically, point to point on the midline, and identifying the 4th star from the top as the “source star.”
• The star must be scaled proportionally from the center of the “source star” at a scale of +5.4x.
• The star must be center-aligned along the x-axis.

• The star's vertical placement is determined by stacking 4 identically sized stars vertically, point to point on the midline, and identifying the 2nd star from the top as the “source star.”
• The star must be scaled proportionally from the center of the “source star” at a scale of +2.3x.
• The star must be center-aligned along the x-axis.

The four colors of the “First Light” flag are Orange, White, Azure Blue, and Navy Blue. The color specifications as defined by “First Light” flag designer Eric Hart are:

Color scheme	Orange		White		Azure Blue		Navy Blue
Pantone	PMS 165		No PMS		PMS 549		PMS 282
RGB	255–103–31		255–255–255		107–164–184		4–30–66
Hex	#FF671F		#FFFFFF		#6BA4B8		#041E42
CMYK	0%–74%–96%–0%		0%–0%–0%–0%		59%–23%–21%–0%		100%–87%–41%–50%

• The star must be “Orange.”
• The hoist-side triangle must be “Azure Blue."
• The fly-end triangle must be “Navy Blue."

In most cases, on-screen or digital reproductions of the flag should use the RGB colors as in the table above. When displaying in physical fabric formats, it is much preferred to use the Pantone specifications. When printing on paper, the CMYK colors are superior.

During creative explorations the bottom edge of the flag may be extended beyond its standard bounds. When doing so:

• The navy blue must always be extended diagonally in such a way that it overlaps the azure blue.

Another way to think of it:

• Imagine the flag is wearing a robe. The navy blue side of the robe on the flag’s left side (the observer’s right side) must overlap the azure blue side of the robe on the flag’s right (the observer’s left). This must always be the case.

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  Horizontal display on flagpole.
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  Vertical display on flagpole.
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  Angular display on outrigger flagpole.
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  Mounting in horizontal orientation.
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  Mounting in vertical orientation.

• When flown on a flagpole horizontally the flag must be affixed to the halyard via the azure-blue hoist side of the flag. It must be affixed to the halyard in such an orientation that the star rests in the uppermost segment. The angles opposite of the vertical legs of both right triangles must meet in the bottom-most segment.

• When flown on a flagpole vertically the flag must be displayed in such an orientation that the star rests in the rightmost segment. The azure blue triangle must rest in the uppermost segment. The navy blue triangle must rest in the bottom-most segment. The converging points of the right triangles must meet in the leftmost segment.

• When flown at an angle on an outrigger flagpole the flag must be affixed to the halyard via the azure-blue hoist side of the flag. It must be affixed to the halyard in such an orientation that the star rests in the uppermost segment. The angles opposite of the vertical legs of both right triangles must meet in the bottom-most segment.

• When wall mounted horizontally the flag must be displayed following the same orientation rules as when it is flown on a flagpole horizontally.

• When wall mounted vertically the flag must be displayed following the same orientation rules as when it is flown on a flagpole vertically.

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