Meaning of Color Red in Different Cultures across the World

[Buah]

Different colors have different meanings in different cultures across the world. What does color "RED" mean in your language or culture? What does the RED color implies?

"The true colour of life is the colour of the body, the colour of the covered red, the implicit and not explicit red of the living heart and the pulses. It is the modest colour of the unpublished blood." – Alice Meynell

It was all red on that Sunday, last month, the February 14 – call it St. Valentine's day. I was out and about as usual. Town was interesting with lovers loving all over. All around town, event organizers were busily getting their events in order to match up demand. I understand some lost and suffered pain on this widely misunderstood day; call them the CASUALTIES of the day. Why won't s/he call it over?! The pressure might have been too much, as against (perhaps) the dwindling finances. Blame no one. If you, on the other hand, had a good day with yours truly, lucky you! …Condoms were in good supply, I suppose. Demand might have been met or was it that the sexual promiscuity usually characterizing the day had been reduced? Ha, that should've called for a National Celebration of a sort!

Yes, I was out and about and thinking... I do that often, you know?! Then it dawned on me, a thought – what at all is it about this colour, red?! Admittedly, it is my favourite colour too.

See, this colour is naturally hot. It's a colour that both amazes and confuses me. It conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions, from passionate love to violence and warfare. I don't know, but this same colour strikes a chord with so many cultures. It has many connotations. In china, it's the colour for celebration and good luck or wealth. It's the colour for purity, integrity and for marriage in India. In my beloved Africa, you don't wanna know?! – It represents mourning/death/danger. Check out the number of countries in the world having red on their National Flags!

Some common connotations of this colour includes: passion, aggression, courage, guilt, energy, love, anger, hatred, pain, fire, sacrifice, violence, emergency, danger, sin, blood, devils, stop, exit, success, purity, attraction, beauty, error, HIV/AIDS awareness and drug intolerance. Confusing, huh?

Strangely, this same colour is believed to conjure up hunger and even stimulate appetite – hmm, so the McDonald's, the Burgerville's and the Corner Café's might be seriously exploiting this… he he!

What does red as a colour really mean to you, does it drive you?

Let me narrate to you the findings of this recent research by some scientist at the University of Rochester in New York. Like one can get a research grant for almost everything now, never mind.

This study basically says, the colour red makes MEN see WOMEN in it as hotter or, more scientifically put, more attractive.

In the experiments, groups of young men looked briefly at a picture of a moderately attractive woman printed on a red background, and the same woman then on a white, grey or green background. They also looked at a woman in red clothing, and the same one in blue clothing.

The men found the lady with a red background more attractive, both physically and sexually.

Comparing the woman in a red shirt to the same woman dressed in blue, the men said they were more likely to ask the lady in red on a date and to lavish more money on her... read more here

Another report by some sports psychologists at the University of Münster, Germany, showed that boxers dressed in red often perform better (Psychological Science, vol 19, p 769). "If one competitor is strong and the other weak, it won't change the outcome of the fight," says Norbert Hagemann, the leader of the study. "But the closer the levels, the easier it is for the colour to tip the scale," he added.

Red is also said to exert some influence in team games. Some years ago, a study of 56 seasons of English soccer, led by Martin Attrill at the University of Plymouth, UK, found that, on average, teams whose first-choice kit was red finished higher in the league and won more home games than teams in other colours - which might go some way to explaining why Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal have won more league titles between them since the second world war (Journal of Sports Sciences, vol. 26, p 577).

A quick diversion here.
"We've shown this now in our lab probably 10 times, or even more, and shown variants of it-- red versus different colors, red on different types of tests, red in Germany versus red in the United States, and we find it's a very consistent effect", Andrew Elliot, Psychology Professor at the University of Rochester, says. "Red undermines performance on any kind of intellectually oriented test." He asserted. This same red again? You may ask!

Well, it's a flattering colour, that I know! It naturally draws attention and will remain my favourite colour. But wait a minute… ever wondered why red is the predominant colour of lipsticks or even why your lips are red? I rest here, but the question still lingers on, what is it about this colour, red?

… and "When in doubt wear red", Bill Blass.

[Kofi]

In my community in Africa, the color red signifies danger. Red signifies Pain and Sorrow. Red also signifies death. When someone dies in my community we wear Red color to show our pain and sorrow. In happy times, we wear white.

thank you for posting this and with the comment too helped me with my collage work