Saturday, February 11, 2012

The Color Red



When I think of The Color Red, many different thoughts come to mind for it is the most contradictory colors on the spectrum. It can signify danger or life. It can be good luck as well as bad. In India red is the sacred color of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and beauty. In China a ruby represents longevity. The red planet Mars is named after the Roman god of war. Early physicians wore red robes to signify their healing profession, and doors were decorated with a red cross to signify the presence of the bubonic plague.

The early Christian church used red for directions in prayer books as to the conduct of church services and to show feast days on the ecclesiastical calendar, so a red-letter day became a lucky day.

In the Middle Ages bright colors were rare since they were tedious and difficult to produce. Hence red became the exclusive preserve for kings, judges, the nobility and the pope and his cardinals. In 1464 Pope Paul II introduced “Cardinal Purple,” which was not purple at all, but a red dye made from the kermes insect.

To the Romans, the red flag was a symbol for battle. In Russia, red means beautiful. The Bolsheviks used a red flag as their symbol when they overthrew the tsar in 1917. That’s how the red flag became the symbol for communism.

In In the English War of the Roses, red was the color of the House of Lancaster, which defeated the House of York, symbolized by the color white.

The “Redshirts” were the soldiers of the Italian leader Garibaldi, who unified modern Italy in the nineteenth century.

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