The red, white, and light blue are derived from the heraldic emblems of the Luxemburg House after the late 13th century. This emblem has an excited red lion with nails spread out on a base of silver and blue horizontal stripes. The current design appeared in mid 19th century, but the heraldic emblem, flag, and national symbols were made official with protection law in 1972. Since Luxembourg was under the control of Holland in the past, the flags are very much alike.