It had also been adopted by many in the then Socialist Republic of Macedonia to symbolize historical connections between that country and ancient Macedon and had been paraded in demonstrations by ethnic Macedonians at home and abroad. This ancient symbol was known as the Vergina Sun or Vergina Star, named after the Greek town where it had been discovered in archaeological excavations of the ancient Macedonian city of Aigai.
The flag depicted a stylized yellow sun centered on a red field with eight main and eight secondary rays emanating from the sun, tapering to a point.
On August 11, 1992, the newly-independent Republic of Macedonia adopted a new flag to replace the old Communist “red star” insignia.