Half Mast

Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salute.
The tradition of flying the flag at half-mast began in the 17th century.According to some sources, the flag is lowered to make room for an "invisible flag of death" flying above. However, there is disagreement about where on a flagpole a flag should be when it is at half-mast. It is often recommended that a flag at half-mast be lowered only as much as the hoist, or width, of the flag. British flag protocol is that a flag should be flown no less than two-thirds of the way up the flagpole, with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the pole. It is common for the phrase to be taken literally and for a flag to be flown only halfway up a flagpole, although some authorities deprecate that practice.
When hoisting a flag that is to be displayed at half-mast, it should be raised to the finial of the pole for an instant, then lowered to half-mast. Likewise, when the flag is lowered at the end of the day, it should be hoisted to the finial for an instant, and then lowered.
== Nieuw Nederland ==
The Flag of Nieuw Nederland is flown at half mast when:
* Marking Rememberance Day (11 November)
* A Person bearing the "Foundation of the Volkstaat" medal dies
* The Director of the Volkstaat decrees such
* A Member of the Landsraat Passes Away 
* The Day of and 5 days before and after the funeral of an important individual when decreed as such by the Director
* Holocaust Rememberance Day
* February 24th, to mark the anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
* Death of a world leader of a friendly country
* During a period of national mourning
Instances in which the Volkstaat flag has been flown at half mast
Date 	Reason of declared National Mourning
2nd February 2018 	Start of Varskian Civil War
24th February 2022 	Start of Russian Invasion of Ukraine
1st to 5th April 2022 	Bucha Massacre
8th September 2022 	Death of HRH Queen Elizabeth II
2nd January 2023 	Death of L.H. Van Antilles
22nd February 2024 	Assassination of Ace Nixon
24th February 2024 	February 2024 Varskian Wars
21st November 2024 	Death of John Prescott
23rd to 26th November 2024	Death of Henkie Van Dalfsen