the national colours of ukraine are usually identified as the combination of blue and gold in that order. these colours are the same as in the flag of ukraine. the roots of ukrainian national colours come from before christian times when yellow and blue prevailed in traditional ceremonies, reflecting fire and water. the most solid proof of yellow and blue colours could be traced as far as the battle of grunwald at which participated militia formations from various lands of the polish-lithuanian union. in maps of the 19th and 20th centuries, the territories of ukraine were usually coloured yellow. the "gold" (or) is nearly always represented by a shade of yellow, as there is no distinct colour "yellow" in heraldry; they both count as "gold".