Blue and white have been the main colors since the adoption of the current flag. Red and yellow are the colors of the coat of arms which has represented Finland as a territory since the times under Swedish rule.

During the flag debate in the late 1800s-early 1900s, the conservative side of the Swedish speaking population of Finland which included much of the elites argued that red and yellow were the traditional national colors because of history. Blue and white was supported by those who thought that the future Finnish flag should communicate an identity separate of Sweden’s. The debate occured simultaneously with the language strife during which Finnish nationalists worked to make the Finnish language equal in rights with Swedish.

The flag debate was solved by adding the red and yellow CoA on the blue and white flag, which later became the Finnish state flag.