There are a range of cultural influences that affect one\u2019s view of a specific color, like political and historical associations (flag colors<\/a>, political parties), mythological and religious associations (references to color in spiritual texts), and linguistic associations (idioms and expressions).<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some of the most common symbolism in popular colors, then explore them in full.<\/p>\n Color symbolism is prevalent because color is important. It\u2019s a crucial form of communication for human beings. We use it to represent ideas, feelings, and emotions. We also process a lot of information through\u00a0what\u00a0<\/em>we see. Our eyes absorb what\u2019s before us and send signals to our brain to interpret.<\/p>\n The amount (and variety of) symbolism in colors is truly endless. However, here are a few shared interpretations.<\/p>\n Red<\/a>. No matter one\u2019s race, religion, or personal beliefs, we are all united by the same life force, the blood that flows through the red rivers of our veins.<\/p>\n Red is a universal color of life. Beyond blood, it represents physical energy and humans\u2019 will to exist. It\u2019s evident in all facets of what makes life . . . life.<\/p>\n Red or\u00a0pink<\/a>. A visually hot color, red represents passionate, sexual love.\u00a0Or<\/em>, the exact opposite\u2014jealousy, anger, and revenge.<\/p>\n Pink<\/a>\u00a0is a softer hue, suggesting a gentler kind of love. It\u2019s a delicate and provocative color (unless\u00a0neon<\/a>\u00a0pink is involved)<\/p>\n Yellow<\/a>. The return of a yellow sun and the subsequent bloom of spring flowers is enough to make most people smile after a long winter. This is one of the reasons for yellow\u2019s connection to happiness. It\u2019s a bright, youthful color, radiating warmth and joy.<\/p>\n Yellow or green.\u00a0<\/strong>In Canada, families display yellow ribbons on the walls of their home to keep hope alive for loved ones at war.<\/p>\n The United States and Europe associate\u00a0green<\/a>\u00a0with hope due to its relationship with springtime and a sense of flourishing. Think growth, nature, rebirth\u2014these are all connected to the color green.<\/p>\n Green<\/a>. Back in 1603, William Shakespeare referred to jealousy as a \u201cgreen-eyed monster\u201d in his tragic play\u00a0Othello<\/em>. These days, the idiomatic phrase \u201cgreen with envy\u201d is common in the West.<\/p>\n Black<\/a>. Always an interesting color because of its inherent antagonism. Black symbolizes death and mourning. Interestingly enough, it\u2019s also a sleek and elegant choice in design,\u00a0especially minimalistic ones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most dictionaries refer to fire or blood in order to define \u201cred<\/a>.\u201d It\u2019s a versatile color that holds both positive and negative connotations.<\/p>\n Red is visually arresting. So, countries around the world use it to signify\u00a0stop<\/em>\u00a0in traffic lights and stop signs.<\/p>\n In Western cultures, red symbolizes excitement, passion, love, and danger.\u00a0Red is powerful and sexy. The\u00a0Lady in Red<\/a>\u00a0(an old television and film trope centered around a woman who is irresistible but not to be trusted) wears red If you\u2019ve ever had the\u00a0blues<\/a>\u00a0or been so angry you saw\u00a0red<\/a>, then you\u2019re familiar with the powerful ways in which color can describe intangible ideas and emotions. In art and anthropology, color symbolism refers to color\u2019s ability to signify meaning to a viewer. While there are some universal associations people have with different colors, their meanings differ from culture to culture.<\/p>\n There are a range of cultural influences that affect one\u2019s view of a specific color, like political and historical associations (flag colors<\/a>, political parties), mythological and religious associations (references to color in spiritual texts), and linguistic associations (idioms and expressions).<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some of the most common symbolism in popular colors, then explore them in full.<\/p>\n Color symbolism is prevalent because color is important. It\u2019s a crucial form of communication for human beings. We use it to represent ideas, feelings, and emotions. We also process a lot of information through\u00a0what\u00a0<\/em>we see. Our eyes absorb what\u2019s before us and send signals to our brain to interpret.<\/p>\n The amount (and variety of) symbolism in colors is truly endless. However, here are a few shared interpretations.<\/p>\n Red<\/a>. No matter one\u2019s race, religion, or personal beliefs, we are all united by the same life force, the blood that flows through the red rivers of our veins.<\/p>\n Red is a universal color of life. Beyond blood, it represents physical energy and humans\u2019 will to exist. It\u2019s evident in all facets of what makes life . . . life.<\/p>\n Red or\u00a0pink<\/a>. A visually hot color, red represents passionate, sexual love.\u00a0Or<\/em>, the exact opposite\u2014jealousy, anger, and revenge.<\/p>\n Pink<\/a>\u00a0is a softer hue, suggesting a gentler kind of love. It\u2019s a delicate and provocative color (unless\u00a0neon<\/a>\u00a0pink is involved).<\/p>\n Yellow<\/a>. The return of a yellow sun and the subsequent bloom of spring flowers is enough to make most people smile after a long winter. This is one of the reasons for yellow\u2019s connection to happiness. It\u2019s a bright, youthful color, radiating warmth and joy.<\/p>\n Yellow or green.\u00a0<\/strong>In Canada, families display yellow ribbons on the walls of their home to keep hope alive for loved ones at war.<\/p>\n The United States and Europe associate\u00a0green<\/a>\u00a0with hope due to its relationship with springtime and a sense of flourishing. Think growth, nature, rebirth\u2014these are all connected to the color green.<\/p>\n Blue<\/a>. It\u2019s cool and calming, and often associated with the sea and sky. Blue instills a sense of inner stability.<\/p>\n Green<\/a>. Back in 1603, William Shakespeare referred to jealousy as a \u201cgreen-eyed monster\u201d in his tragic play\u00a0Othello<\/em>. These days, the idiomatic phrase \u201cgreen with envy\u201d is common in the West.<\/p>\n Black<\/a>. Always an interesting color because of its inherent antagonism. Black symbolizes death and mourning. Interestingly enough, it\u2019s also a sleek and elegant choice in design,\u00a0especially minimalistic ones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most dictionaries refer to fire or blood in order to define \u201cred<\/a>.\u201d It\u2019s a versatile color that holds both positive and negative connotations.<\/p>\n Red is visually arresting. So, countries around the world use it to signify\u00a0stop<\/em>\u00a0in traffic lights and stop signs.<\/p>\n In Western cultures, red symbolizes excitement, passion, love, and danger.\u00a0Red is powerful and sexy. The\u00a0Lady in Red<\/a>\u00a0(an old television and film trope centered around a woman who is irresistible but not to be trusted) wears red.<\/p>\n In China, red represents happiness, good fortune, luck, and prosperity. Since it\u2019s such an auspicious color, people traditionally wear it for big celebrations, such as the\u00a0New Year<\/a>. At weddings, the bride wears red. During holidays and other special occasions, monetary gifts are given in\u00a0red envelopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n In East Asian stock markets, red signifies a rise in stock prices, whereas it signifies a fall in North American markets.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Japanese flag<\/a>\u00a0is a white rectangle with a central crimson-red disc.<\/p>\n Red carries a handful of negative associations in the West\u2014\u201ccaught red-handed\u201d (caught in the middle of a wrongdoing) and \u201cred flag\u201d (referring to a warning sign).<\/p>\n Meanwhile, South Africa associates red with mourning. The red section of the\u00a0country\u2019s flag<\/a>\u00a0represents the bloodshed\u2014both in terms of violence and sacrifice\u2014that occurred during the country\u2019s struggle for independence.<\/p>\n Orange<\/a>\u00a0is the easiest color to see in dim light. It\u2019s no surprise that life rafts, life jackets, and buoys come in the \u201csafety orange\u201d shade. In the United States, \u201cDetour\u201d signs and the vests of highway workers are orange in order to ensure visibility.<\/p>\n The West has much more color symbolism for orange. It brings autumn and harvest to mind. When paired with black, orange represents\u00a0Halloween<\/a>, a time when the veil between worlds is supposedly thin. Some suggest orange and black were chosen for their opposing associations\u2014orange being the warmth of life and black the darkness of death Western culture also associates orange with frivolity and amusement.\u00a0Clowns<\/a>\u00a0wear orange wigs. Mythological paintings depict\u00a0Bacchus<\/a>\u2014the god of wine-making, fertility, ritual madness, and religious ecstasy\u2014in orange robes.<\/p>\n In Southeast Asia (namely Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar), Buddhist monks of the Theravada tradition wear\u00a0saffron<\/a>-colored robes. Monks chose this hue centuries ago mainly due to the\u00a0dye available<\/a>\u00a0at the time, but the tradition has continued into the present. These countries associate what is sacred and holy with the color orange.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a phenomenon in the Netherlands called\u00a0Oranjegekte<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(orange craze) that occurs during major sporting events, the F1 Grand Prix, and an annual holiday that celebrates the king\u2019s birthday. When the orange craze takes over the Dutch, they wear orange clothing and decorate their cars, houses, shops, and streets in orange. This started as a way to celebrate the Dutch royal family\u2014the House of Orange-Nassau.<\/p>\n Need to grab a viewer\u2019s attention? Yellow is the most visible color on the spectrum and the first color the human eye notices. The yellow ochre pigment dates back thousands of years and was one of the first colors in human artwork.<\/p>\n For example, the Lascaux Cave in France has a 17,000-year-old painting of a yellow horse. In the United States, Canada, and Europe, surveys find that people associate yellow with gentleness and spontaneity, but also with greed and duplicity.<\/p>\n People in the United States also associate it with cowardice. Some believe the phrase \u201cyellow-bellied\u201d\u2014a term for those who are cowardly\u2014may have originated from chickens (\u201cDon\u2019t be a chicken\u201d) and the rich yellow of their egg yolk.<\/p>\n In China, yellow has strong historical and cultural associations. The first emperor was called the Yellow Emperor. When the Song Dynasty ended in 1279, the emperor was the only person allowed to wear bright yellow. Yellow carpet also welcomed and honored distinguished visitors to China.<\/p>\n In current Chinese pop culture, however, a \u201cyellow movie\u201d refers to films that are adult in nature.<\/p>\n Yellow is a sacred color in Polynesia, considered to be the color of divine essence. In local languages, yellow shares its name with the curcuma longa plant, which is thought to be the food of the gods. Surveys show that\u00a0green<\/a>\u00a0is commonly associated with nature, spring, and good health in North and South America, Europe, and Islamic countries.<\/p>\n Conversely, the United States and European Union sometimes associate it with poor health. The saying \u201cgreen around the gills\u201d refers to someone who appears sick. Although the origin of the phrase is lost, it\u2019s likely due to the discoloration of one\u2019s skin when they are nauseated.<\/p>\n Green means go. Traffic lights turn green when cars should pass. Hollywood \u201cgreenlights\u201d projects for production. We also see this in the United States immigration process. A \u201cgreen card\u201d is what immigrants receive when they have permission to permanently stay in the country. Ireland is synonymous with green. It\u2019s called the Emerald Isle because of its abundantly\u00a0green countryside<\/a>\u00a0(a product of heavy rainfall). American country singer Johnny Cash even has a song about the lush landscapes of Ireland entitled \u201cForty Shades of Green.\u201d<\/p>\n Green symbolized magical beings in Irish and English\u00a0folklore<\/a>. For example, the Irish leprechaun wears a green suit. Legend has it that leprechauns pinch those who aren\u2019t wearing green on St. Patrick\u2019s Day, an Irish holiday that celebrates their foremost patron saint.<\/p>\n Green is the traditional color of Islam, and is associated with paradise in the Qur\u2019an. This holy text states that the people of paradise wear green and sit upon green cushions. Green is also said to be the favorite color of the Prophet Muhammad and the color in which he was buried.<\/p>\n While most colors conjure tangibles (a red rose, orange fruit, yellow lemon, or green grass),\u00a0blue<\/a>\u00a0brings to mind the sea and sky, and the dreamy space where the two meet.<\/p>\n Blue transcends cultural boundaries. Its most prominent color symbolism is calmness. It soothes us the way sitting in the sand to watch gentle waves wash ashore soothes us. This is also the reason most airplane interiors are blue, to comfort anxious flyers.<\/p>\n Perhaps it\u2019s also the reason why the United Nations (an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace) chose light blue as\u00a0the color of its flag<\/a><\/p>\n Blue has significant religious meanings around the world. Ancient Egypt associated blue with divinity and the sky. Amun, the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire (also known as King of Gods), would turn his skin blue in order to fly (invisibly) across the sky.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in Hinduism, gods such as Vishnu, Krishna, and Shiva, are all depicted as having blue skin. When it comes to 12th<\/sup>\u00a0century Catholicism, the Roman Catholic Church insisted that painters color the Virgin Mary with the new, most expensive pigment imported from Asia\u2014ultramarine. The color thus became associated with holiness and virtue.<\/p>\n The Nazar, or Evil Eye, is a blue glass bead. It traces back to ancient Egypt and the god Osiris. His followers believed Osiris\u2019s eye had protective powers. Now, people wear the Nazar as a protective talisman. Turkey, Greece, Pakistan, Iran, and other countries believe it wards off evil and brings good luck.<\/p>\n Europe and the United States most often associate\u00a0Common Color Symbolism
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/12\/paintbrushes-paint.jpg?w=750\")
<\/h2>\nThe Color of Life<\/h3>\n
The Color of Love
\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/pink-symbolizing-love.jpg?w=750\")
\n<\/span><\/h3>\nThe Color of Happiness<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Hope<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Peace<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"Person](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/tranquility.jpg?w=750\")
\nBlue<\/a>. It\u2019s cool and calming, and often associated with the sea and sky. Blue instills a sense of inner stability.<\/p>\nThe Color of Jealousy<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Death<\/span><\/h3>\n
Red
\n![\"Abstract](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/abstract-art.jpg?w=750\")
<\/h2>\nPopular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n![\"Closeup](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/red-ink.jpg?w=750\")
<\/p>\nColor quite literally colors the way we view our world. Here\u2019s an in-depth look at what various colors symbolize in cultures around the world.<\/h2>\n
\nCommon Color Symbolism<\/span><\/h2>\n
The Color of Life<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Love<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Happiness<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Hope<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Peace<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Jealousy<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Color of Death<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nRed<\/span><\/h2>\n
Popular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
Orange
\n![\"Refreshing](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/refreshing-citrus-orange.jpg?w=750\")
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Image by Barbara Neveu<\/a><\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\nPopular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n![\"Bright](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/orange-egyptian-arches.jpg?w=750\")
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Image via Andrei Nekrassov<\/a>.
\n<\/em><\/p>\nYellow
\n![\"Closeup](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/Dandelion-Flowers-1.jpg?w=750\")
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Image via irin-k<\/a>.<\/em><\/h2>\nPopular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n![\"Lascaux](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/10\/Cave-Painting.jpg?w=750\")
<\/p>\n
\nYellow and\u00a0gold<\/a>\u00a0are interchangeable in Christian lore. The color(s) symbolize faith and the divine glory, and golden halos adorn saints in religious paintings.<\/p>\nGreen
\n![\"Closeup](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/playful-green-parrot.jpg?w=750\")
<\/h2>\nPopular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
\n![\"Mint](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/green-lagoon.jpg?w=750\")
<\/p>\nBlue
\n![\"Macro](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/10\/Blue-Agave.jpg?w=750\")
<\/h2>\nPopular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"Painted](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/Wooden-Stature-of-Krishna-1.jpg?w=750\")
<\/p>\nPurple
\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/10\/purple-flowers.jpg?w=750\")
<\/h2>\nPopular Shades<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n