National Flag:
 Design
The First Lady, Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno, designed the flag of Costa Rica in 1848. The flag was designed after the ideals of the French Revolution - freedom, equality, and brotherhood - and the colors of the French National Flag.
Dimensions
The flag of Costa Rica consists of five horizontal stripes: A red stripe located in the center, between two white stripes, which are between two blue stripes. The width of each stripe is 1/6 of the total width of the flag, except the red stripe, which is 2/6 of the total width.
Meaning
Each color represents important aspects of Costa Rica:
Blue means the sky, opportunities at reach, intellectual thinking, perseverance to accomplish a goal, infinite, eternity, and ideals of the religious and spiritual desires.
White means clear thinking, happiness, wisdom, power and beauty of the sky, the driving force of initiatives to search for new endeavors, and the peace of Costa Rica.
Red means the warmth of Costa Rican people, their love to live, their blood shed for freedom, and their generous attitude.
Usage
Flag in Castilian Spanish has two meanings: "Bandera" and "Pabellon Nacional." The first one refers to a national flag. The second one refers to a national flag with the national shield printed on the center of the red stripe.
Most high schools and primary schools, public offices, government offices, foreign missions and merchant ships must have the "Pabellón Nacional." For parties or civil activities, people use the "Bandera."
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National Motto:
General Information
Costa Rica has not officially designated a national motto. However, if Costa Rica were to designate a national motto, our research team believes that the choice would be the expression "Pura Vida."
Costa Ricans started using the expression "Pura Vida" after watching the premier of a Mexican movie called "Pura Vida!" in 1956. During that time only a small portion of the population used it. By 1970 everyone used the expression on a daily basis because the words conveyed the state of happiness, peace, and tranquility that the political stability and freedom bring to Costa Ricans.
Nowadays, the expression "Pura Vida" has become so popular that has been added to Costa Rican Spanish dictionaries as an idiom to greet, or to show appreciation.
Meaning
Pura Vida is a word that identifies a Costa Rican wherever he or she may be. When you say "Pura Vida" the facial expression of the person changes and the person smiles. It is a word very meaningful to Costa Ricans. It reminds us of home and it beauty.
Pura Vida has different meanings and it is implemented as an informal Spanish expression:
To Greet Someone
When you see someone on the streets, shake hands, or just to say hello you would say "Pura Vida!" That means in English Hi, Hello, How are you doing?and/ or What's going on?
To Say Good-bye
When you leave a place, you want to say good bye, you say "Hasta luego todo estuvo Pura Vida."
To Show Appreciation (for a person, object or situation)
If you want to express that a situation, object, or situation is great, cool, abundant, joy, and/or fun. You would say something or someone is Pura Vida. "Usted es Pura Vida!" means you are a great person.
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National Shield:
Design
The Honorable President Jose María Castro Madriz decreed the creation of the National Shield on September 29, 1848. The National Shield has been redesigned twice. In 1906 all the war elements (cannons, rifles, etc.) were taken off, and in 1964 two stars were added since Costa Rica gained two more provinces (Limon & Puntarenas). Those changes underlined the peaceful and civil nature of the Costa Rican people.
Meaning
"América Central" (Central America) is imprinted in silver letters on the blue ribbon at the top of the coat-of-arms. The two branches of myrtle closing the coat-of-arms represent the peace of Costa Rica. On the white ribbon that joins the branches, the title "Republica de Costa Rica" (Republic of Costa Rica) is imprinted in golden letters. The seven stars above the volcanoes represent the seven provinces of Costa Rica: Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, and San Jose.
The volcanoes represent the three Costa Rica's mountain range systems. They form a valley and divide the country in two parts. The two oceans represent the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The merchant ships sailing on each ocean represent the cultural and commercial exchange between Costa Rica and the rest of the world. The rising sun represents the prosperity of Costa Rica.
The small circles on both sides of the coat represent the coffee beans, "Golden Beans."
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