Since red is the color ofblood, it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, and courage. Modern surveys inEurope and theUnited States show red is also the color most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love, and joy. In China,India, and many other Asian countries it is the color symbolizing happiness and good fortune.[4]: 39–63
Varieties of the color red may differ inhue,chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness), orlightness (or value, tone, orbrightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also calledtints and shades, a tint being a red or other hue mixed with white, a shade being mixed with black. Four examples are shown below.
Thecardinal takes its name from the color worn by Catholiccardinals.
Vermilion is similar to scarlet, but slightly more orange. This issindoor, a red cosmetic powder used in India; someHindu women put a stripe of sindoor along their hair parting to show they are married.[5][6]
Ruby is the color of a cut and polishedruby gemstone.
In science and nature
Seeing red
Bulls, like dogs and many other animals, havedichromacy, which means they cannot distinguish the color red. They charge the matador's cape because of its motion, not its color.
The human eye sees red when it looks at light with a wavelength between approximately 625 and 740nanometers.[1] It is a primary color in theRGB color model and the light just past this range is called infrared, or below red, and cannot be seen by human eyes, although it can be sensed as heat.[7] In the language of optics, red is the color evoked by light that stimulates neither the S or the M (short and medium wavelength) cone cells of the retina, combined with a fading stimulation of the L (long-wavelength) cone cells.[8]
Primates can distinguish the full range of the colors of the spectrum visible to humans, but many kinds of mammals, such as dogs and cattle, havedichromacy, which means they can see blues and yellows, but cannot distinguish red and green (both are seen as gray). Bulls, for instance, cannot see the red color of the cape of a bullfighter, but they are agitated by its movement.[9] (Seecolor vision).
One theory for why primates developed sensitivity to red is that it allowed ripe fruit to be distinguished from unripe fruit and inedible vegetation.[10] This may have driven further adaptations by species taking advantage of this new ability, such as the emergence of red faces.[11]
Red light is used to help adaptnight vision in low-light or night time, as therod cells in the human eye are not sensitive to red.[12][13]
In color theory and on a computer screen
In theRYB color model, which is the basis oftraditional color theory, red is one of the threeprimary colors, along with blue and yellow. Painters in the Renaissance mixed red and blue to make violet:Cennino Cennini, in his 15th-century manual on painting, wrote, "If you want to make a lovely violet colour, take fine lac (red lake),ultramarine blue (the same amount of the one as of the other) with a binder"; he noted that it could also be made by mixing blueindigo and redhematite.[14]
In the CMY andCMYK color models, red is a secondary color subtractively mixed from magenta and yellow.[citation needed]
In theRGB color model, red, green and blue areadditive primary colors. Red, green and blue light combined makes white light, and these three colors, combined in different mixtures, can produce nearly any other color. This principle is used to generate colors on such as computer monitors and televisions. For example, magenta on a computer screen is made by a similar formula to that used by Cennino Cennini in the Renaissance to make violet, but usingadditive colors and light instead of pigment: it is created by combining red and blue light at equal intensity on a black screen. Violet is made on a computer screen in a similar way, but with a greater amount of blue light and less red light.[15]
In a traditionalcolor wheel from 1708, red, yellow and blue are primary colors. Red and yellow make orange; red and blue make violet.
In modern color theory, red, green and blue are the additive primary colors, and together they make white. A combination of red, green and blue light in varying proportions makes all the colors on your computer screen and television screen.
Tiny red, green and bluesub-pixels (enlarged on left side of image) create the colors you see on your computer screen and TV.
Sunsets and sunrises are often red because of an optical effect calledRayleigh scattering.
As a ray of white sunlight travels through the atmosphere to the eye, some of the colors are scattered out of the beam by air molecules andairborne particles due toRayleigh scattering, changing the final color of the beam that is seen. Colors with a shorter wavelength, such as blue and green, scatter more strongly, and are removed from the light that finally reaches the eye.[16] Atsunrise andsunset, when the path of the sunlight through the atmosphere to the eye is longest, the blue and green components are removed almost completely, leaving the longer wavelength orange and red light. The remaining reddened sunlight can also be scattered by cloud droplets and other relatively large particles, which give the sky above the horizon its red glow.[17]
Lasers
Lasers emitting in the red region of the spectrum have been available since the invention of theruby laser in 1960. In 1962 the redhelium–neon laser was invented,[18] and these two types of lasers were widely used in many scientific applications includingholography, and in education. Red helium–neon lasers were used commercially inLaserDisc players. The use of redlaser diodes became widespread with the commercial success of modernDVD players, which use a 660 nm laser diode technology. Today, red and red-orange laser diodes are widely available to the public in the form of extremely inexpensivelaser pointers. Portable, high-powered versions are also available for various applications.[19] More recently, 671 nm diode-pumped solid state (DPSS) lasers have been introduced to the market for all-DPSS laser display systems,particle image velocimetry,Raman spectroscopy, and holography.[20]
Red's wavelength has been an important factor in laser technologies; red lasers, used in earlycompact disc technologies, are being replaced by blue lasers, as red's longer wavelength causes the laser's recordings to take up more space on the disc than would blue-laser recordings.[21]
Astronomy
Mars is called the Red Planet because of the reddish color imparted to its surface by the abundantiron oxide present there.[22]
Astronomical objects that are moving away from the observer exhibit a Dopplerred shift.
Red giants are stars that have exhausted the supply ofhydrogen in their cores and switched tothermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in a shell that surrounds its core. They have radii tens to hundreds of times larger than that of theSun. However, their outer envelope is much lower in temperature, giving them an orange hue. Despite the lower energy density of their envelope, red giants are many times more luminous than the Sun due to their large size.
Ared dwarf is a small and relativelycoolstar, which has a mass of less than half that of theSun and a surface temperature of less than 4,000 K. Red dwarfs are by far the most common type of star in the Galaxy, but due to their low luminosity, from Earth, none are visible to the naked eye.[24]
Redochre cliffs nearRoussillon in France. Red ochre is composed of clay tinted with hematite. Ochre was the first pigment used by humans in prehistoric cave paintings.
Vermilion pigment, made from cinnabar. This was the pigment used in the murals ofPompeii and to color Chineselacquerware beginning in theSong dynasty.
Red lead, also known asminium, has been used since the time of the ancient Greeks. Chemically it is known aslead tetroxide. The Romans prepared it by the roasting of lead white pigment. It was commonly used in the Middle Ages for the headings and decoration of illuminated manuscripts.
The roots of theRubia tinctorum, or madder plant, produced the most common red dye used from ancient times until the 19th century.
Alizarin was the first synthetic red dye, created by German chemists in 1868. It duplicated the colorant in the madder plant, but was cheaper and longer lasting. After its introduction, the production of natural dyes from the madder plant virtually ceased.
Food coloring
The most common synthetic food coloring today isAllura Red AC, a redazo dye that goes by several names including:Allura Red,Food Red 17,C.I. 16035,FD&C Red 40,[25][26] It was originally manufactured from coal tar, but now is mostly made from petroleum.[27]
In Europe, Allura Red AC is not recommended for consumption by children. It is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France and Switzerland, and was also banned in Sweden until the country joined the European Union in 1994.[26] TheEuropean Union approves Allura Red AC as a food colorant, but EU countries' local laws banning food colorants are preserved.[28]
Because of public concerns about possible health risks associated with synthetic dyes, many companies have switched to using natural pigments such ascarmine, made from crushing the tiny femalecochineal insect. This insect, originating in Mexico and Central America, was used to make the brilliantscarlet dyes of the European Renaissance.[citation needed]
The red of autumn leaves is produced by pigments calledanthocyanins. They are not present in the leaf throughout the growing season, but are actively produced towards the end of summer.[31] They develop in late summer in thesap of the cells of the leaf, and this development is the result of complex interactions of many influences—both inside and outside the plant. Their formation depends on the breakdown of sugars in the presence of bright light as the level ofphosphate in the leaf is reduced.[32]
During the summer growing season, phosphate is at a high level. It has a vital role in the breakdown of thesugars manufactured by chlorophyll. But in the fall, phosphate, along with the other chemicals and nutrients, moves out of the leaf into thestem of the plant. When this happens, the sugar-breakdown process changes, leading to the production of anthocyanin pigments. The brighter the light during this period, the greater the production of anthocyanins and the more brilliant the resulting color display. When the days of autumn are bright and cool, and the nights are chilly but not freezing, the brightest colorations usually develop.
Anthocyanins are present in about 10% of tree species in temperate regions, although in certain areas—afamous example being New England—up to 70% of tree species may produce the pigment.[31] In autumn forests they appear vivid in themaples,oaks,sourwood,sweetgums,dogwoods,tupelos,cherry trees andpersimmons. These same pigments often combine with the carotenoids' colors to create the deeper orange, fiery reds, and bronzes typical of many hardwood species. (SeeAutumn leaf color).
Oxygenated blood is red due to the presence of oxygenatedhemoglobin that contains iron molecules, with the iron components reflecting red light.[33][34] Red meat gets its color from the iron found in themyoglobin and hemoglobin in the muscles and residual blood.[35]
Red hair only occurs in 1–2% of the human population.
Red hair occurs naturally on approximately 1–2% of the human population.[37] It occurs more frequently (2–6%) in people of northern or western European ancestry, and less frequently in other populations. Red hair appears in people with two copies of arecessive gene onchromosome 16 which causes a mutation in theMC1R protein.[38]
Red hair varies from a deepburgundy throughburnt orange to brightcopper. It is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigmentpheomelanin (which also accounts for the red color of the lips) and relatively low levels of the dark pigmenteumelanin. The term "redhead" (originallyredd hede) has been in use since at least 1510.[39]
In animal and human behavior
Red is associated withdominance in a number of animal species.[40] For example, inmandrills, red coloration of the face is greatest inalpha males, increasingly less prominent in lower ranking subordinates, and directly correlated with levels oftestosterone.[41] Red can also affect the perception of dominance by others, leading to significant differences in mortality,reproductive success andparental investment between individuals displaying red and those not.[42] In humans, wearing red has been linked with increased performance in competitions, including professional sport[43][44] andmultiplayer video games.[45] Controlled tests have demonstrated that wearing red does not increase performance or levels of testosterone during exercise, so the effect is likely to be produced by perceived rather than actual performance.[46] Judges oftae kwon do have been shown to favor competitors wearing red protective gear over blue,[47] and, when asked, a significant majority of people say that red abstract shapes are more "dominant", "aggressive", and "likely to win a physical competition" than blue shapes.[40] In contrast to its positive effect in physical competition and dominance behavior, exposure to red decreases performance in cognitive tasks[48] and elicits aversion in psychological tests where subjects are placed in an "achievement" context (e.g. taking anIQ test).[49]
Roman wall painting showing a dye shop, Pompeii (40 BC)
Inside cave 13B atPinnacle Point, an archeological site found on the coast of South Africa,paleoanthropologists in 2000 found evidence that, between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago,Late Stone Age people were scraping and grindingochre, a clay colored red byiron oxide, probably with the intention of using it to color their bodies.[50]
Redhematite powder was also found scattered around the remains at a grave site in aZhoukoudian cave complex nearBeijing. The site has evidence of habitation as early as 700,000 years ago. The hematite might have been used to symbolize blood in an offering to the dead.[3]: 4
Red, black and white were the first colors used by artists in theUpper Paleolithic age, probably because natural pigments such as red ochre and iron oxide were readily available where early people lived.Madder, a plant whose root could be made into a red dye, grew widely in Europe, Africa and Asia.[51] Thecave of Altamira in Spain has a painting of a bison colored with red ochre that dates to between 15,000 and 16,500 BC.[52]
A red dye calledKermes was made beginning in theNeolithic Period by drying and then crushing the bodies of the females of a tinyscale insect in the genusKermes, primarilyKermes vermilio. The insects live on the sap of certain trees, especiallyKermes oak trees near the Mediterranean region. Jars of kermes have been found in a Neolithic cave-burial at Adaoutse,Bouches-du-Rhône.[53]: 230–31 Kermes from oak trees was later used by Romans, who imported it from Spain. A different variety of dye was made fromPorphyrophora hamelii (Armenian cochineal) scale insects that lived on the roots and stems of certain herbs. It was mentioned in texts as early as the 8th century BC, and it was used by the ancient Assyrians and Persians.[54]: 45
In ancient Egypt, red was associated with life, health, and victory. Egyptians would color themselves with red ochre during celebrations.[55] Egyptian women used red ochre as acosmetic to redden cheeks and lips[56] and also usedhenna to color their hair and paint their nails.[57]
The ancient Romans woretogas with red stripes on holidays, and the bride at a wedding wore a red shawl, called aflammeum.[4]: 46 Red was used to color statues and the skin of gladiators. Red was also the color associated with army; Roman soldiers wore red tunics, and officers wore a cloak called apaludamentum which, depending upon the quality of the dye, could be crimson,scarlet or purple. InRoman mythology red is associated with the god of war,Mars.[58] Thevexilloid of theRoman Empire had a red background with the lettersSPQR ingold. A Roman general receiving atriumph had his entire body painted red in honor of his achievement.[59]
The Romans liked bright colors, and manyRoman villas were decorated with vivid red murals. The pigment used for many of the murals was calledvermilion, and it came from the mineralcinnabar, a common ore ofmercury. It was one of the finest reds of ancient times – the paintings have retained their brightness for more than twenty centuries. The source of cinnabar for the Romans was a group of mines nearAlmadén, southwest ofMadrid, in Spain. Working in the mines was extremely dangerous, since mercury is highly toxic; the miners were slaves or prisoners, and being sent to the cinnabar mines was a virtual death sentence.[60]
The Middle Ages
Roman Catholic Popes wear red as the symbol of the blood of Christ. This isPope Innocent III, in about 1219.
Red was the traditional color ofmartyrs. A Russian icon ofSaint George (14th c.).
The color of majesty - portrait ofCharlemagne, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, Netherlands (14th c.)
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, red was adopted as a color of majesty and authority by theByzantine Empire, and the princes of Europe. It also played an important part in the rituals of theRoman Catholic Church, symbolizing the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs.[61][62]
In Western Europe, EmperorCharlemagne painted his palace red as a very visible symbol of his authority, and wore red shoes at his coronation.[54]: 36–37 Kings, princes and, beginning in 1295, Roman Catholic cardinals began to wear red coloredhabitus. WhenAbbe Suger rebuiltSaint Denis Basilica outside Paris in the early 12th century, he addedstained glass windows colored blue cobalt glass and red glass tinted with copper. Together they flooded the basilica with a mystical light. Soon stained glass windows were being added to cathedrals all across France, England and Germany. In medieval painting red was used to attract attention to the most important figures; bothChrist and theVirgin Mary were commonly painted wearing red mantles.
In western countries red is a symbol of martyrs and sacrifice, particularly because of its association with blood.[58] Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Pope and Cardinals of theRoman Catholic Church wore red to symbolize the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs. The banner of the Christian soldiers in theFirst Crusade was a red cross on a white field, theSt. George's Cross. According to Christian tradition,Saint George was a Roman soldier who was a member of the guards of the EmperorDiocletian, who refused to renounce his Christian faith and was martyred. The Saint George's Cross became theFlag of England in the 16th century, and now is part of theUnion Flag of the United Kingdom, as well as the Flag of the Republic ofGeorgia.[54]: 36
InRenaissance painting, red was used to draw the attention of the viewer; it was often used as the color of the cloak or costume ofChrist, theVirgin Mary, or another central figure.
InVenice,Titian was the master of fine reds, particularlyvermilion; he used many layers of pigment mixed with a semi-transparent glaze, which let the light pass through, to create a more luminous color. The figures of God, the Virgin Mary and two apostles are highlighted by their vermilion red costumes.
QueenElizabeth I of England liked to wear bright reds, before she adopted the more sober image of the "Virgin Queen".
Red costumes were not limited to the upper classes. In RenaissanceFlanders, people of all social classes wore red at celebrations. One such celebration was captured inThe Wedding Dance (1566) byPieter Bruegel the Elder.
The painterJohannes Vermeer skilfully used different shades and tints of vermilion to paint the red skirt inThe Girl with the Wine Glass, then glazed it with madder lake to make a more luminous color.
Feather headdress from theAztec people of Mexico and Central America, dyed withcochineal
A native ofCentral America collecting cochineal insects from acactus to make red dye (1777)
In Latin America, theAztec people, theParacas culture and other societies usedcochineal, a vivid scarlet dye made from insects. From the 16th until the 19th century, cochineal became a highly profitable export fromSpanish Mexico to Europe.
In the 18th century, red began to take on a new identity as the color of resistance and revolution. It was already associated with blood, and with danger; a red flag hoisted before a battle meant that no prisoners would be taken. In 1793–94, red became the color of theFrench Revolution. A redPhrygian cap, or "liberty cap", was part of the uniform of thesans-culottes, the most militant faction of the revolutionaries.[63]
In the late 18th century, during a strike English dock workers carried red flags, and it thereafter became closely associated with the new labor movement, and later with theLabour Party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1900.
In Paris in 1832, a red flag was carried by working-class demonstrators in the failedJune Rebellion (an event immortalized inLes Misérables), and later in the1848 French Revolution.[64] The red flag was proposed as the new national French flag during the 1848 revolution, but was rejected by at the urging of the poet and statesmanAlphonse Lamartine in favor of the tricolor flag. It appeared again as the flag of the short-livedParis Commune in 1871. It was then adopted byKarl Marx and the new European movements ofsocialism andcommunism.Soviet Russia adopted a red flag following theBolshevik Revolution in 1917. The People's Republic of China adopted the red flag following theChinese Communist Revolution. It was adopted byNorth Vietnam in 1954, and by all of Vietnam in 1975.
Symbolism
Courage and sacrifice
Surveys show that red is the color most associated with courage.[4]: 43 In western countries red is a symbol of martyrs and sacrifice, particularly because of its association with blood.[58] Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Pope and Cardinals of theRoman Catholic Church wore red to symbolize the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs. The banner of the Christian soldiers in theFirst Crusade was a red cross on a white field, theSt. George's Cross. According to Christian tradition,Saint George was a Roman soldier who was a member of the guards of the EmperorDiocletian, who refused to renounce his Christian faith and was martyred. The Saint George's Cross became theFlag of England in the 16th century, and now is part of theUnion Flag of the United Kingdom, as well as the Flag of the Republic ofGeorgia.[54]: 36
Robert Gibb's 1881 painting,The Thin Red Line, depictingThe Thin Red Line at theBattle of Balaclava (1854), when a line of the Scottish Highland infantry repulsed a Russian cavalry charge. The name was given by the British press as a symbol of courage against the odds.
While red is the color most associated with love, it also the color most frequently associated withhatred,anger,aggression and war. People who are angry are said to "see red." Red is the color most commonly associated with passion and heat. Inancient Rome, red was the color ofMars, thegod of war—the planetMars was named for him because of its red color.[4]: 42, 53
Warning and danger
Red is the traditional color of warning and danger, and is therefore often used on flags. In the Middle Ages up through theFrench Revolution, ared flag shown in warfare indicated the intent to take no prisoners.[65][66] Similarly, a red flag hoisted by apirate ship meant no mercy would be shown to their target.[67][68] In Britain, in the early days of motoring, motor cars had to follow a man with a red flag who would warn horse-drawn vehicles, before theLocomotives on Highways Act 1896 abolished this law.[69] In automobile races, the red flag is raised if there is danger to the drivers.[70] In international football, a player who has made a serious violation of the rules is shown a redpenalty card and ejected from the game.[71]
Several studies have indicated that red carries the strongest reaction of all the colors, with the level of reaction decreasing gradually with the colors orange, yellow, and white, respectively.[72][73] For this reason, red is generally used as the highest level of warning, such as threat level of terrorist attack in the United States. In fact, teachers at a primary school in the UK have been told not to mark children's work inred ink because it encourages a "negative approach".[74]
Red is the international color of stop signs and stop lights on highways and intersections. It was standardized as the international color at theVienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968. It was chosen partly because red is the brightest color in daytime (next to orange), though it is less visible at twilight, when green is the most visible color. Red also stands out more clearly against a cool natural backdrop of blue sky, green trees or gray buildings. But it was mostly chosen as the color for stoplights and stop signs because of its universal association with danger and warning.[4]: 54 The 1968Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968 uses red color also for the margin of danger warning sign, give way signs and prohibitory signs, following the previous German-type signage (established by Verordnung über Warnungstafeln für den Kraftfahrzeugverkehr in 1927).
Red is the color that most attracts attention. Surveys show it is the color most frequently associated with visibility, proximity, and extroverts.[citation needed] It is also the color most associated with dynamism and activity.[4]: 48, 58
Red is used in modern fashion much as it was used in Medieval painting; to attract the eyes of the viewer to the person who is supposed to be the center of attention. People wearing red seem to be closer than those dressed in other colors, even if they are actually the same distance away.[4]: 48, 58 Monarchs, wives of presidential candidates and other celebrities often wear red to be visible from a distance in a crowd. It is also commonly worn by lifeguards and others whose job requires them to be easily found.[75][76]
Because red attracts attention, it is frequently used in advertising, though studies show that people are less likely to read something printed in red because they know it is advertising, and because it is more difficult visually to read than black and white text.[4]: 60
Seduction, sexuality and sin
Red by a large margin is the color most commonly associated with seduction, sexuality, eroticism and immorality, possibly because of its close connection with passion and with danger.[4]: 55
Red was long seen as having a dark side, particularly inChristian theology. It was associated with sexual passion, anger, sin, and the devil.[77][78] In theOld Testament of theBible, theBook of Isaiah said: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow."[79] In theNew Testament, in theBook of Revelation, the Antichrist appears as a red monster, ridden by a woman dressed in scarlet, known as theWhore of Babylon.[80]
Satan is often depicted as colored red and/or wearing a red costume in both iconography andpopular culture.[78][81] By the 20th century, the devil in red had become a folk character in legends and stories. The devil in red appears more often in cartoons and movies than in religious art.[citation needed]
Red is still commonly associated withprostitution. At various points in history, prostitutes were required to wear red to announce their profession.[78] Houses of prostitution displayed a red light. Beginning in the early 20th century, houses of prostitution were allowed only in certain specified neighborhoods, which became known asred-light districts. Large red-light districts are found today inBangkok andAmsterdam.[83][84]
In both Christian and Hebrew tradition, red is also sometimes associated with murder or guilt, with "having blood on one's hands", or "being caught red-handed.[86]
TheWhore of Babylon, depicted in a 14th-century French illuminated manuscript. The woman appears attractive, but is wearing red under her blue garment.
Reine de joie, (Queen of Joy), a book cover illustration byHenri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1892) about a Paris prostitute
Sheet music for "At the Devil's Ball", byIrving Berlin, United States, 1915
Thered-light district in Amsterdam (2003). Red is thesex industry's preferred color in many cultures, due to being strongly associated with passion, love and sexuality.[4]: 39–63
InChristianity, red is associated with theblood of Christ and the sacrifice ofmartyrs. In theRoman Catholic Church it is also associated withpentecost and the Holy Spirit. Since 1295, it is the color worn by Cardinals, the senior clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. Red is theliturgical color for the feasts of martyrs, representing the blood of those who suffered death for their faith. It is sometimes used as the liturgical color forHoly Week, includingPalm Sunday andGood Friday, although this is a modern (20th-century) development. In Catholic practice, it is also the liturgical color used to commemorate the Holy Spirit (for this reason it is worn at Pentecost and during Confirmation masses). Because of its association with martyrdom and the Spirit, it is also the color used to commemorate saints who were martyred, such as St. George and all the Apostles (except for the Apostle St. John, who was not martyred, where white is used). As such, it is used to commemorate bishops, who are the successors of the Apostles (for this reason, when funeral masses are held for bishops, cardinals, or popes, red is used instead of the white that would ordinarily be used).
InBuddhism, red is one of the five colors which are said to have emanated from theBuddha when he attained enlightenment, ornirvana. It is particularly associated with the benefits of the practice of Buddhism; achievement, wisdom, virtue, fortune and dignity. It was also believed to have the power to resist evil. In China red was commonly used for the walls, pillars, and gates of temples.
In theShinto religion of Japan, the gateways of temples, calledtorii, are traditionally painted vermilion red and black. The torii symbolizes the passage from the profane world to a sacred place. The bridges in the gardens of Japanese temples are also painted red (and usually only temple bridges are red, not bridges in ordinary gardens), since they are also passages to sacred places. Red was also considered a color which could expel evil and disease.
InChinese folk religion, red is also sometimes used to symbolize yang in the context of the creatorPangu, who hatched out of acosmic egg colored like ataijitu.[88] Some art of Pangu colored yang as red.[88] In addition, red is also anauspicious color according to Chinese beliefs.[89]
The red military uniform was adopted by the English Parliament'sNew Model Army in 1645, and was still worn as a dress uniform by the British Army until the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. Ordinary soldiers wore red coats dyed withmadder, while officers wore scarlet coats dyed with the more expensivecochineal.[54]: 168–69 This led to British soldiers being known asred coats.
In the modern British army, scarlet is still worn by theFoot Guards, theLife Guards, and by some regimental bands ordrummers for ceremonial purposes.Officers andNCOs of those regiments which previously wore red retain scarlet as the color of their "mess" or formal evening jackets. TheRoyal Gibraltar Regiment has a scarlet tunic in its winter dress.
Scarlet is worn for some full dress, military band or mess uniforms in the modern armies of a number of the countries that made up the former British Empire. These include the Australian, Jamaican, New Zealand, Fijian, Canadian, Kenyan, Ghanaian, Indian, Singaporean, Sri Lankan and Pakistani armies.[90]
The musicians of theUnited States Marine Corps Band wear red, following an 18th-century military tradition that the uniforms of band members are the reverse of the uniforms of the other soldiers in their unit. Since the US Marine uniform is blue with red facings, the band wears the reverse.
The first known team sport to feature red uniforms waschariot racing during the lateRoman Empire. The earliest races were between two chariots, one driver wearing red, the other white. Later, the number of teams was increased to four, including drivers in light green and sky blue. Twenty-five races were run in a day, with a total of one hundred chariots participating.[92]
Today many sports teams throughout the world feature red on their uniforms. Along withblue, red is the most commonly used non-white color in sports. Numerous national sports teams wear red, often through association with their national flags. A few of these teams feature the color as part of their nickname such as Spain (with theirassociation football (soccer) national team nicknamedLa Furia Roja or "The Red Fury") and Belgium (whosefootball team bears the nicknameRode Duivels or "Red Devils").
In clubassociation football (soccer), red is a commonly used color throughout the world. Among European notable club teams most often playing at home in red shirts includeBayern Munich,Benfica,Liverpool,Manchester United andRoma. Furthermore, many prominent teams play in partially red color schemes, involving different-colored sleeves or stripes. A number of teams' nicknames feature the color. A redpenalty card is issued to a player who commits a serious infraction: the player is immediately disqualified from further play and his team must continue with one fewer player for the game's duration.
Rosso Corsa is the red international motor racing color of cars entered by teams from Italy. Since the 1920s Italian race cars ofAlfa Romeo,Maserati,Lancia, and laterFerrari andAbarth have been painted with a color known asrosso corsa ("racing red"). National colors were mostly replaced inFormula One by commercial sponsor liveries in 1968, but unlike most other teams, Ferrari always kept the traditional red, although the shade of the color varies.Ducati traditionally run red factory bikes in motorcycleWorld Championship racing.
The color is commonly used for professional sports teams in Canada and the United States with elevenMajor League Baseball teams, elevenNational Hockey League teams, sevenNational Football League teams and elevenNational Basketball Association teams prominently featuring some shade of the color. The color is also featured in the league logos of Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.[93] In the National Football League, a red flag is thrown by the head coach to challenge a referee's decision during the game. During the 1950s when red was strongly associated withcommunism in the United States, the modernCincinnati Reds team was known as the "Redlegs" and the term was used on baseball cards. After the red scare faded, the team was known as the "Reds" again.[94]
Countries with red on their flags; the shades of red correspond to those on their respective flags.
Red is the most common color found in national flags, found on the flags of 77 percent of the 210 countries listed as independent in 2016; far ahead of white (58 percent); green (40 percent) and blue (37 percent).[95] TheBritish flag bears the colors red, white and blue; it includes thecross ofSaint George, patron saint of England, and thesaltire ofSaint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, both of which are red on white.[96]: 10 Theflag of the United States bears the colors of Britain,[97] the colors of the Frenchtricolore include red as part of the old Paris coat of arms, and other countries' flags, such as those ofAustralia,New Zealand, andFiji, carry a small inset of the British flag in memory of their ties to that country.[96]: 13–20 Many former colonies of Spain, such asMexico,Colombia,Costa Rica,Cuba,Ecuador,Panama,Peru,Puerto Rico andVenezuela, also feature red-one of the colors of the Spanish flag-on their own banners. Red flags are also used to symbolize storms, bad water conditions, and many other dangers.
Red, blue, and white are also thePan-Slavic colors adopted by the Slavic solidarity movement of the late nineteenth century. Initially these were the colors of the Russian flag; as the Slavic movement grew, they were adopted by other Slavic peoples includingSlovaks,Slovenes, andSerbs. The flags of theCzech Republic andPoland use red for historic heraldic reasons (seeCoat of arms of Poland andCoat of arms of the Czech Republic) & not due to Pan-Slavic connotations. In 2004Georgia adopted a new whiteflag, which consists of four small and one big red cross in the middle touching all four sides.
Red, white, and black were the colors of theGerman Empire from 1870 to 1918, and as such they came to be associated with German nationalism. In the 1920s they were adopted as the colors of theNazi flag. InMein Kampf, Hitler explained that they were "revered colors expressive of our homage to the glorious past." The red part of the flag was also chosen to attract attention – Hitler wrote: "the new flag ... should prove effective as a large poster" because "in hundreds of thousands of cases a really striking emblem may be the first cause of awakening interest in a movement." The red also symbolized the social program of the Nazis, aimed at German workers.[98] Several designs by a number of different authors were considered, but the one adopted in the end was Hitler's personal design.[99]
Red, white, green and black are the colors ofPan-Arabism and are used by many Arab countries.[100]
The flags of Japan andBangladesh both have a red circle in the middle of different colored backgrounds. The flag of thePhilippines has a red trapezoid on the bottom signifying blood, courage, and valor (also, if the flag is inverted so that the red trapezoid is on top and the blue at the bottom, it indicates a state of war). The flag ofSingapore has a red rectangle on the top. The field of theflag of Portugal is green and red. The Ottoman Empire adopted several different red flags during the six centuries of its rule, with the successorRepublic of Turkey continuing the 1844 Ottomanflag.
TheSaint George's Cross was the banner of theFirst Crusade, then, beginning in the 13th century, the flag of England. It is the red color (along with that of the Cross of Saint Patrick) in the flag of the United Kingdom, and, by adoption, of the red in the flag of the United States.
In the Roman Empire, freed slaves were given a redPhrygian cap as an emblem of their liberation. Because of this symbolism, the red "Liberty cap" became a symbol of the American patriots fighting for independence from England. During theFrench Revolution, theJacobins also adapted the redPhrygian cap, and forced the deposed KingLouis XVI to wear one after his arrest.[63]
In the 20th century, red was the color first of the RussianBolsheviks and then, after the success of theRussian Revolution of 1917, ofcommunist parties around the world. However, after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia went back to the pre-revolutionary blue, white and red flag.
Members of theChristian-Social People's Party inLiechtenstein (founded 1918) advocated an expansion of democracy and progressive social policies, and were often referred to disparagingly as "Reds" for their social liberal leanings and party colors.[103]
TheChinese Communist Party, founded in 1920, adopted the red flag and hammer and sickle emblem of the Soviet Union, which became the national symbols when the Party took power in China in 1949. Under Party leaderMao Zedong, the Party anthem became "The East Is Red",[104] and Mao Zedong himself was sometimes referred to as a "red sun".[105] During theCultural Revolution in China, Party ideology was enforced by theRed Guards, and thesayings of Mao Zedong were published as a little red book in hundreds of millions of copies. Today the Chinese Communist Party claims to be the largest political party in the world, with eighty million members.[106]
Beginning in the 1960s and the 1970s, paramilitary extremist groups such as theRed Army Faction in Germany, theJapanese Red Army and theShining Path Maoist movement inPeru used red as their color. But in the 1980s, some European socialist and social democratic parties, such as the Labour Party in Britain and the Socialist Party in France, moved away from the symbolism of the far left, keeping the red color but changing their symbol to a less-threatening red rose.
Red is used around the world by political parties of the left or center-left. In the United States, it is the color of the Communist Party USA, and of theSocial Democrats, USA.
United States
A map of the U.S. showing theblue states, which voted for the Democratic candidate in the 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections, and thered states, which voted for theRepublican Party
In the United States, political commentators often refer to the "red states", which voted for Republican candidates in the last four presidential elections, and "blue states", which voted for Democrats. This convention is relatively recent: before the2000 presidential election, media outlets assigned red and blue to both parties, sometimes alternating the allocation for each election. Fixed usage was established during the 39-day recount following the 2000 election, when the media began to discuss the contest in terms of"red states" versus "blue states".[107] States which voted for different parties in two of the last four presidential elections are called "Swing States", and are usually colored purple, a mix of red and blue.[108]
Social and special interest groups
Such names as Red Club (a bar), Red Carpet (a discothèque) or Red Cottbus and Club Red (event locations) suggest liveliness and excitement. TheRed Hat Society is a social group founded in 1998 for women 50 and over. Use of the color red to call attention to an emergency situation is evident in the names of such organizations as the Red Cross (humanitarian aid), Red Hot Organization (AIDS support), and the Red List of Threatened Species (ofIUCN). In reference to humans, term "red" is often used in the West to describe theindigenous peoples of the Americas.[109]
Idioms
Many idiomatic expressions exploit the various connotations of red:Expressing emotion
"to see red" (to be angry or aggressive)[110][111]
"to have red ears / a red face" (to be embarrassed)[112]
"to paint the town red" (to have an enjoyable evening, usually with a generous amount of eating, drinking, dancing)[113]
Giving warning
"to raise a red flag" (to signal that something is problematic)[114]
"like a red rag to a bull" (to cause someone to be enraged)[115][116]
"to be in the red" (to be losing money, from the accounting convention of writing deficits and losses inred ink)[117][118]
Calling attention
"ared letter day" (a special or important event, from the medieval custom of printing the dates of saints' days and holy days in red ink.)[119][120]
"to give red-carpet treatment" (to treat someone as important or special)[122]
"to catch someone red-handed" (to catch or discover someone doing something bad or wrong)[123]
Other idioms
"to tie up inred tape". In England red tape was used by lawyers and government officials to identify important documents. It became a term for excessive bureaucratic regulation. It was popularized in the 19th century by the writerThomas Carlyle, who complained about "red-tapism".[124]
"red herring". A false clue that leads investigators off the track. Refers to the practice of using a fragrant smoked fish to distract hunting or tracking dogs from the track they are meant to follow.[125][126]
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