The official flag of Georgia was adopted very recently in the January of 2004 when presidential candidate Saakashvili won the elections and made the flag of his party the official flag of Georgia by law. Today the official flag of Georgia bears resemblance to the flag used in medieval times by the Georgian kingdom and depicts 5 crosses. This flag which is actually 500 years old was revived following Georgia's independence from Soviet Union in the year 1991. The red crosses have their origin in the flag used by Georgian king Vakhtang Gorgasali which was influenced by the cross of St. George . This single cross was transformed into 5 crosses by Queen Tamar but the big cross in the middle still represents the cross of St. George, the patron saint of Georgia. The total of 5 crosses are said to depict the 5 holy wounds on the body of Jesus: http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/georgia-flag.html
