Orange, reminiscent of the banners and flags that flew wildly from the streets of The Netherlands when the country was freed from Nazi occupation near the end of World War II, has returned as a symbol of freedom and democracy. This time it’s in Ukraine.

In the Netherlands, the color’s legacy flows from the royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau. In Ukraine, the color was adopted by presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko, the leader of what his supporters are calling the Orange Revolution. In each case, orange signifies a new beginning.

Yushchenko will face Russian-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych in a new election Dec. 26. The Nov. 21 election, which favored Yanukovych, was invalidated by the country’s Supreme Court after massive voting fraud was uncovered.

Yushchenko is decidedly pro-West, and the orange scarf he often wears – and the ribbons and banners worn and waved by legions of supporters who took to the streets demanding a fair election – represents a move away from Ukraine’s totalitarian, Soviet-dominated past.

Orange is a fitting color for Yushchenko’s organization.

It was the Netherlands’ William I, prince of the House of Orange, who led the revolt that eventually resulted in Dutch independence from Spain in 1648. And it was William III, William I’s great-grandson, along with Queen Mary, who moved England toward a parliamentary democracy after taking the throne in England in 1689.

Yushchenko carries on that tradition of independence and democratic reform.

He has survived an assassination attempt and a fraudulent election, and he’s the best hope for his country to break free from an anti-democratic and totalitarian regime.