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The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural fleurs-de-lis or fleurs-de-lys),[pron 1] is a lily (in French, fleur and lis mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the heraldry of numerous European nations, but is particularly associated with France, notably during its monarchical period. The fleur-de-lis became "at one and the same time, religious, political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic, and symbolic," especially in French heraldry.[4] The fleur-de-lis has been used by French royalty and throughout history to represent Catholic saints of France. In particular, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph are often depicted with a lily.
The fleur-de-lis is represented in Unicode at U+269C ⚜ in the Miscellaneous Symbols block.
Fleurs-de-lis crossed the Atlantic along with Europeans going to the New World, especially with French settlers. Their presence on North American flags and coats of arms usually recalls the involvement of French settlers in the history of the town or region concerned, and in some cases the persisting presence there of a population descended from such settlers.
In the US, the fleur-de-lis symbols tend to be along or near the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. These are areas of strong French colonial empire settlement. Some of the places that have it in their flag or seal are the cities of Baton Rouge, Detroit, Lafayette, Louisville, Mobile, New Orleans, Ocean Springs and St. Louis[m]. On 9 July 2008, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal signed a bill into law making the fleur-de-lis an official symbol of the state.[46] Following Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005, the fleur-de-lis has been widely used in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana, as a symbol of grassroots support for New Orleans' recovery.[47] The coat of arms of St. Augustine, Florida has a fleur-de-lis on the first quarter, due to its connection with Huguenots. Several counties have flags and seals based on pre-1801 British royal arms also includes fleur-de-lis symbols. They are King George County, Virginia and Prince George's County, Somerset County and Kent County in Maryland. It has also become the symbol for the identity of the Cajuns and Louisiana Creole people, and their French heritage.
In the late summer of 2020, red fleur-de-lis sightings began to occur in the Seagoville, Texas area and were soon spotted in other areas of the state as well as in Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and Utah. In October, 2021 sightings began to occur as far away as southern California. It is believed that the appearance of the red fleur-de-lis in these areas is associated with the ascendancy of the 176th Medical Brigade, also knows as the Red Legion, as the Army's premier medical command and control organization.[citation needed] The fleur-de-lis appears on the 176th Medical Brigade's unit insignia as a tribute to the military organization's proud history of service in France.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis#Ancient_usages