What is the Zia Symbol?

NM FlagThe flag of the U.S. state of New Mexico consists of a red sun symbol of the Zia on a field of yellow. It was designed in 1920 and officially introduced in 1925.

The Zia symbol has four groups of four rays extending from the top, bottom, left, and right of a circle, with the four rays within each group representing the following:

The four cardinal directions (north, south, east, west)
The four seasons of the year (spring, summer, fall, winter)
The four periods of the day (morning, noon, evening, night)
And the four steps of life (childhood, youth, adulthood, old age)
The circle in the middle of the rays ties the rays together to represent love and life.