Snohomish, Washington- In the lower part of the seal appears, in three lines, BOSTONIA/CONDITA A.D. / 1630. (“Boston Founded AD. 1630”). On a ring of “continental buff” surrounding the seal is SICUT PATRIBUS SIT DEUS NOBIS (“God be with us as He was with our fathers”) at the top, and CIVITATIS REGIMINE DONATA AD. 1822. (“Presented with the government of a body politic in the year of Our Lord 1822”), at the bottom, all in blue.
- A blue mid stripe represents the Mississippi River; a small cabin stands for Father Gaultier’s original St. Paul chapel; a dome represents Minnesota’s Capitol and capital; and a winged wheel indicates St. Paul’s position as a transportation hub. The flag also contains a star of the north, symbolic of Minnesota, and a red shield, representing the progress and spirit of the city, while gold stripes are symbolic of the future.
- Albuquerque uses the Zia sun symbol from the New Mexico state flag, but with the colors reversed: the sun is yellow on a crimson field.
- The sun symbol of the Native American Zia Pueblo has four arms signifying the importance of the number four in their spiritual beliefs: four figures in the four cardinal directions, the four seasons, the four aspects of the day (sunrise, noon, sunset, and night), and the four stages of life (childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age).
- The motto “God be with us as He was with our fathers” comes from 1 Kings, 8:57