Firefighters Maltese Cross - Ancient Meaning & Symbolism - Firefighters Maltese Cross
The Ancient History of The Firefighters Maltese Cross:
When a brave, heroic and courageous group of crusaders, the Knights of St. John, engaged in bloody combat with the heathen Saracens for occupation of the Holy Land, they were up against a brutal element known as fire.
While the crusaders made their way toward Jerusalem, the evil Saracens threw glass containers filled with a highly flammable oil known as naphtha, and then shot down firey burning arrows. Thousands of knights were burned alive and many more put their own lives in harms way to attempt to save their comrades from terribly painful flaming deaths.
Therefore these became the first firefighters. Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded them with a badge of honor similar to the cross firefighters wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for almost four hundred years collectively on the island called Malta, located deep in the Mediterranean Sea, their cross soon would come to be known as the Firefighters Maltese Cross.
The Meaning of The Firefighters Maltese Cross is as follows:
The Firefighters Maltese Cross is our symbol of protection. It means that the Firefighter who wears this cross is willing to lay down his/her life for you just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow man so many years ago. The Firefighters Maltese Cross is a badge of honor, signifying that he or she works in brave courage just a single ladder's rung away from a firey death.
A Firefighters Maltese Cross consists of eight points: Observation, Explicitness, Courage, Perseverance, Sympathy, Dexterity, Loyalty, Tact. This is the Firefighters Maltese Cross.
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