Household pennant

A collection of Nordic pennants in Örnsköldsvik. In order: Åland, Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden.

Household pennant is a quite common Nordic and Scandinavian tradition. A household pennant (Finnish: isännänviiri; Swedish: vimpel; Norwegian: vimpel; Danish: vimpel) can be flown whenever there is no flag flying day and it is usually a means of telling that the "master of the house" is at home or simply for decorations. Due to this, pennants flags are usually a more common sight than the national flag in these countries. These pennants have a long, narrow, triangular shape, usually one third to half the length of the flag pole. The pennants are also used in some countries for determining the wind direction. Unlike the national flag, which usually has a specific timeframe it can formally be flown during the day, pennants are regarded as more informal, and can be flown all day and night until worn out.