I came across a post from HawaiiMagazine.com that I wanted to share. The post itself is actually from this past October, but I found it featured in the magazine’s best posts update early this year.
From HawaiiMagazine.com: What’s the story behind Hawaii’s flag?
I had previously known some of the history and meaning behind the flag, such as the Union Jack and the eight stripes for the eight major islands. I didn’t know, however, about the Kanaka Maoli, or Native Hawaiian, flag. The post, while brief, does a good job explaining the background of the state flag, so I’ll let you read that.
Our Hawaii State FlagI’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this in the past, but we ourselves are proud owners of a full-sized Hawaii State flag. It might sound odd (at least it did to one of the staff at the Sheraton), but I was really keen on bringing one of these home during our first Maui trip. Little did I realize these weren’t the exciting tourist item that everybody was selling.
We checked everywhere we could think of: almost all the ABC Stores, Whalers Village, Lahaina Cannery Mall, up and down Front Street, and no luck. As a last ditch effort, and seeing the sign along Hwy 30 in Lahaina, we stopped into the Ace Hardware store of all places, and sure enough, I got my flag!
Nowadays, that everlasting reminder of Hawaii is hanging on the wall above my desk in my office at home, as you can see below. Those bottles pictured there are also reminders of our time on Maui, although they have since moved on to a better place. 
Those are bottles of Ocean Vodka, made with water from 1,000 ft below sea level off the shores of Maui. But that’s another post.
Those are bottles of Ocean Vodka, made with water from 1,000 ft below sea level off the shores of Maui. But that’s another post. 
One More Hawaii Flag Tip
One thing you may notice while in Hawaii is that some people fly the Hawaii flag upside down, whether on their porch, as bumper stickers, etc. What we were told while seeing this along the Road to Hana is that it is a display by some islanders as a disapproval of tourists. While these aren’t violent or dangerous people, we were warned (half jokingly, I think) to be weary of anyone flying the flag upside down that might be selling food, fruit, or other clever ways to play pranks on unsuspecting tourists.
Rest assured, these represent only a very, very limited number of folks on the islands, usually younger youth looking for something to rebel against. I only mention it because it’s something that you likely wouldn’t notice if you weren’t looking for it.
