Colours have their own language , such as flowers or gestures .They can transmit us a feeling, a message. However the interpretation of colours is not the same in all cultures and that's what makes it interessant . Even if we tend to associate for example red with love and green with nature, these interpretations can differ according to the culture . But why are colors so important? Well, there is an spanish idiom that says “ todo entra por los ojos” which means that what we see, the visuals we see , it's the most important. It may sound superficial but we all know that is kind of true. For example in the Western culture where black is associated mostly with death, it will be very odd to see a bride dressed in it. And now, without further ado, let´s do a review of the colors.
RED
To start let's pick red, my favourite colour. This color its eye- catching, that's why in countries around the world they used it for the traffic signs and to signify stop on traffic lights It´s a color commonly related to passion and love in the Western culture. It's the most color used by women for their lipstick and nailpolish.
Also in China this colour represents good luck and prosperity and people traditionally wear it for big celebrations such as New Year. This color is even used for the bride's dress, yes that seems strange for other cultures but in India it's the same case. You can identify the brides because of the red henna on their hand .
But in South Africa it´s linked with mourning, the red in this country's flag represents all the blood caused by the violence to gain their independence.
ORANGE
Orange is another remarkable color, as a matter of a fact life rats, life jackets and buoys are orange. Even the so-called “ balck boxes” from the aircrafts are orange because it makes it easier to see them in the rubble.
It´s a color considered wild and fun in most of the cultures. Actually most of the clown wigs are of this color. Further is the color from the royal family in Netherlands, and there is a tradition in this country called the “ Oranjegekte” ( orange craze) that occurs during major sporting events or the King's birthday and where people wear and decorate streets, their cars, their homes in orange support their country. In Japanese and China this color represents love ,courage and happiness. In Southeast Asia buddhist monks from the Theravada tradition wear saffron-colored robes and it's considered a sacred color because of this. In fact the saffron is considered in India the saffron is considered to be lucky and sacred.
However in Egypt orange is the color of mourning , due to the fact that in Ancient Egypt they used a yellow-orange dye made from realgar in their tomb paintings.
YELLOW
The brightest color, the color of the sun and sunflowers. It´s other eye catching color , and the combination of this one with black is easy to see at long distances. That's why taxis and school buses are painted with yellow and black. Nevertheless this color has very different meanings around the world.
Because of the similarity between yellow and gold, in Africa it is used by wealthy people. As well in Polynesia it's a sacred color, in local languages the word to design this color is the same used to the curcuma plant. In their culture this plant is thought to be the food of the gods.Besides, in India where like I´ve mentioned they painted the tombs in a yellow-orange hue, this color is associated with mourning.
In China yellow has historical and cultural importance. The first Emperor was called “ the Yellow Emperor”. The “ yellow robe” was the one the used by the Emperor. In addition notable visitors in China were honored with a yellow carpet. Nowadays is associated with pornography . They use the term “ yellow picture” or “ yellow film ” to name pornographic films, websites or images.
GREEN
The color of nature that surrounds us. It is related with the environment and in many asian cultures it´s bonded with eternal life and prosperity.
Ireland is nicknamed “ The Emerald Isle” due to the green countryside as a consequence of constant rain. Green is also related to leprechauns and fantastic beings such as fairies. As well it´ s associated with greediness and jealousy. When we say someone´s is “ green-eyed” when he is jealous and envious. The absinthe , a popular drink in “ La Belle Époque” , was called “ the green fairy” because of the strong percentage of alcohol that was on it and the cheap price which made it the doom for a lot of people .
BLUE
Blue is the color of both sky and sea . It's considered worldwide a color of calm and security, that's why many banks choose to pick it for their logo. It's also the color of the United Nations flag.In fact in Greece there was a custom to paint all the doors and windows frames to prevent the evil spirits from coming in. The “ Nazar eye” also called the evil eye is a blue glass bead worn as a protective talisman against jealousy and evil.
While in the Western culture blue is often associated with masculinity, in China it is with femininity. Blue has strong meaning in different religions. In Hinduism it´is Krishna's skin color, a goddess who embodied happiness and love . In Judaism blue is the shade of for holiness and divinity, just as in Catholicism where the “ Virgin Mary” is commonly portrayed on a blue robe.
PURPLE
This color is frequently tied to spirituality, faith, wealth and royalty. It's linked to richness because of the difficulty to produce this pigment. Purple dye was extracted from sea nails and they needed for just one gram of this color nine thousands small mollusks. In fact it was called Tyrian purple because Tyre, a Phoenician city, was the only place to produce this hue. That's why purple clothing was exclusive for the royalty and wealthy people. It´s a color also related to womanhood and femininity.
In some European countries such as the U.K and Italy , also in Brazil and India , purple is considered a color of mourning. In Brazil it's said to be unlucky wearing purple when it's not a funeral or an event linked to it. In Catholic tradition this color has the same meaning. As a matter of a fact, in Peru each year we celebrate “ El señor de los milagros” ( The Lord of miracles) in honor of Jesus. In processions people wear purple robes , that is the traditional habits of the Nazarenas, devout Peruvians who took care of the Lord of miracle´s chapel.
PINK
This shade is bonded to femininity, love, tenderness and romance. It´s a calming color . In the 1980´s after the results of the scientist Alexander Schauss who found out the calming effects of this color, prison wardens started to paint holding cells in pink.
A fun fact of this color is that in China it was an unrecognized color. But after the increasing Western color they named it “ foreign color”. Nowadays pink is a representative color of the battle against breast cancer.
WHITE
White is the reflection of all light waves in the visible spectrum . It's attached to purity, peace, goodness. In Western culture is the typical color of wedding dresses. This tradition goes back to the 19th century when Queen Victoria chose to wear a white lace gown instead of the coronation robes of royal tradition. Although some said it came of Roman tradition where brides wore white tunics to show their chastity .
It´s a calming and peaceful color, that's why hospitals choose this shade for their rooms. Furthermore it is known that the white pigeon with an olive branch in the beak is a worldwide symbol of peace.
However in some cultures white is the color of mourning , in China it´s used in funeral clothing.
BLACK
Black it's not a color ,technically is the absence of all visible light. It's related to evil, death, night time, elegance. In the Western culture is the predominant colors in funerals and for mourning. It´s a color related with elegance that's why most of the tuxedos are of this color and why we talk about “ balck-tie affairs” referring to formal ones. In Japan it denotes mystery and it's used for calligraphy. In many religions it is believed that before the world was all darkness .The Devil is referred as the “ prince of darkness”.
On the other hand in Egypt black is associated with life due to the rich black soil that flooded the Nile. In India balck is also a color of protection against evil, sometimes a black dot is painted under a person's chin or behind their ears for protection.
Colors have different meanings depending on the cultures. That's the beauty of diversity around the world, where you can always learn and discover new things. It's crazy how the same thing, in this case a color, can have so many differents interpretations worldwide. I hope this post will help you to understand more the beliefs and traditions of different civilizations and you learned new things.
PD: All the pictures were taken by myself, only the blue and black flowers picture´s are from the web
