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São João, Paraná (Brazil)

[Flag of São João (Paraná), PR (Brazil)]

image by Ivan Sache, 10 February 2022

About the Flag

About the Flag

The municipality of São João (10,599 inhabitants in 2010; 38,904 ha) is located 430 km west of Curitiba.

São João was settled in 1920 by the Marcondes, Félix and Vieira dos Santo families, who lived from hunting, timber extraction and pig breeding. The road to Chopinzinho was built in 1925. The first mass in the village was celebrated in 1936 by Friar Timóteo de Palmas in the newly erected chapel.
The district of São João was established in 1954, as part of the municipality of Mangueirinha, to be elevated a municipality by State Law No. 4,245 promulgated on 25 July 1960.

https://saojoao.pr.gov.br/
Municipal website

The flag and arms of São João are prescribed by Municipal Law No. 324 promulgated on 22 July 1986.

Article 6.
The municipal flag of São João, designed by heraldist and vexillologist Lauro Ribeiro Escobar, is described as follows: Rectangular, blue with a yellow crossed cotised in white, the arms' intersection superimposed with a white circle charged with the coat of arms described in Article 19.
§1. The arms of the cross are 2 units in width and the cotises are 0.5 unit in width; the median line of the vertical arm is placed 7 units away from the hoist, the circle is 8 units in diameter and the coat of arms is 6.5 units in width.
§2. The symbolism of the colors of the flag is referred to in Article 19, emphasizing that silver on the coat of arms corresponds to white on the Flag.
§3. The cross is the symbol of faith and the circle is the symbol of eternity, as it is a geometric figure that has no beginning or end, indicating the purposes of the residents who permanently settled, with their descendants, in the municipal territory.

Article 7.
In compliance with heraldic rules, the municipal flag shall have the official dimensions prescribed for the national flag, 14 units in width on 20 (units in length.

Article 19.
The coat of arms of the municipality of São João, designed by heraldist and vexillologist, Lauro Ribeiro Escobar, is described as follows:
Iberian shield, azure a Paschal lamb accosted dexter a cross patty sinister a cog wheel all argent a chief argent charged with a half sun gules issuant from the vase a dimidiated base argent. The shield surmounted by an eight-towered mural crown argent ports sable and supported dexter by a wheat plant and sinister by a maize plant all leaved and proper. A scroll azure with toponym "SÃO JOÃO" argent.

The coat of arms has the following interpretation.
a) The Iberian shield was used in Portugal at the time of the discovery of Brazil and its adoption highlights the first settlers and explorers of the homeland.
b) Azure (blue) has the heraldic meaning of justice, beauty, sweetness, highlighting the attributes of administrators and citizens, who in constant work, reach the development of the Municipality, also alluding to the beautiful natural areas of the region.
c) The Paschal lamb is the attribute of Saint John the Baptist, not only evocative of the municipality's patron saint but also making the arms canting.
d) The cross patty, a symbol of the Christian faith, is a reference to the first chapel built by local residents in 1936 and dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, giving rise to the current toponym. The cogwheel represents the first industry installed in the village, Oswaldo Hartmann's sawmill. These charges emphasize the first and definitive landmarks in local human establishment.
e) Argent is a symbol of happiness, purity, hope, truth, frankness, beauty, integrity and friendship, emphasizing the climate of harmony and cordiality enjoyed by residents, indispensable to community life and sustainable development.
f) The sun is the symbol of glory, eternity, fame, unity, truth and munificence. Gules (red) is a symbol of courage, valor, gallantry, intrepidity, conspicuous nobleness, generosity and honor, all highlighting the audacity of the region's pioneers, who, without measuring sacrifices, sow the seeds of the municipality, and the attributes of their posterity, who by persistent work, yearn for eternity and the glory of their birth place.
g) The base is the heraldic representation of the municipality's freshwater resources, represented by numerous watercourses that benefit its ubiquitous lands, especially rivers Iguaçu, Chopin, Capivara, Mirin, Empossado and Dois Irmãos.
h) The mural crown is the symbol of political emancipation; argent, with eight towers, only five of them visible, it is proper to towns; the ports sable (black) proclaim the hospitable character of São João's people.
i) The wheat and maize plants allude to the fertility of the São João's generous lands, being important products that point out agriculture as a basic factor of the municipal income.
j) On the scroll, toponym "SÃO JOÃO" identifies the municipality.

https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/pr/s/sao-joao/lei-ordinaria/1986/32/324/lei-ordinaria-n-324-1986-dispoe-sobre-a-forma-e-a-apresentacao-dos-simbolos-do-municipio-de-sao-joao-e-da-outras-providencias
Leis Municipais database

This abrogated Municipal Law No. 163 promulgated on 15 August 1977, which prescribed the first municipal flag as follows.

Article 2.
The municipal flag shall be rectangular.

Article 3.
The colors of the municipal flag shall be blue and white.
§1. The colors will be distributed in an increasing slanted direction from left to right, with the upper part blue and the lower part white, in the center in a horizontal direction, in white on the blue part and in blue in the white part, the motto "CULTURA, PROSPERIDADE E UNIÃO" (Culture, Prosperity and Union).
§2. The blue color shall represent the firmament, while the white color shall represent peace.

https://leismunicipais.com.br/a/pr/s/sao-joao/lei-ordinaria/1977/17/163/lei-ordinaria-n-163-1977-cria-a-bandeira-municipal
Leis Municipais database

Photos
https://www.facebook.com/PrefeituraMunicipalDeSaoJoao/photos/721225137958476
https://www.facebook.com/PrefeituraMunicipalDeSaoJoao/photos/715389558542034

Ivan Sache, 10 February 2022