The Chilean Flag – Serious Business on September 18
Hector Gutierrez September 17, 2012
The Chilean Flag – Serious Business on September 18 Your Rating
September 18 is upon us once again – a time of celebration, fervent patriotic pride, dancing, and a lot of barbeques.
One of the more colorful effects of the celebration is the appearance of the Chilean flag everywhere you look. Chilean flags and Chilean branded merchandising can be found on every street corner and every traffic stop.
The flag is a sensitive issue for Chileans. It is displayed anywhere Chile appears around the world, especially for sporting matches, and people feel connected. Patriotic sentiments are at an all-time high during independence day celebrations.
However, there is a serious side to the raising of the flag.All buildings, houses government installations, and industrial sites must, by law, raise the Chilean flag on this solemn date. Legislation about this issue is so serious that police can issue you a fine for not displaying the national flag or displaying it incorrectly.

Raising the Chilean flag has complicated legal implications. Photo: Hector Gutierrez
The legislation dates back to 1967 and fines can reach CL$73,000 – not an insignificant amount of money. There are instructions been communicated by the media as to how the national flag must be displayed. These instructions include, “The flag must be displayed on the extreme tip of the mast”, “The mast must be white”, and “The flag may be displayed horizontally”.
Just last year, President Piñera passed a new law allowing the use of the national flag at any time during the year. Previously, it was an offence to fly the national flag, except in government offices, outside the September 18 celebrations.
We have not met anyone who has been fined for putting up the national flag when they were not supposed to, or for not putting it up when they were supposed to. As it stands, it is still an old wives’ tale as to whether or not you will be fined by the Chilean police force.
Either way, avoid the risk and buy yourself a flag. They are CL$1,000 on the street, and then you can legally be allowed to celebrate. Our American brothers do it, so why not give it a try?