Incarnadine - Red in Different Cultures and Traditions

Red in Different Cultures and Traditions

In China, red (simplified Chinese: 红; traditional Chinese: 紅; pinyin: hóng) is the symbol of fire and the south (both south in general and Southern China specifically). It carries a largely positive connotation, being associated with courage, loyalty, honor, success, fortune, fertility, happiness, passion, and summer. In Chinese cultural traditions, red is associated with weddings (where brides traditionally wear red dresses) and red paper is frequently used to wrap gifts of money or other objects. Special red packets (simplified Chinese: 红包; traditional Chinese: 紅包; pinyin: hóng bāo in Mandarin or lai see in Cantonese) are specifically used during Chinese New Year celebrations for giving monetary gifts. On the more negative side, obituaries are traditionally written in red ink, and to write someone's name in red signals either cutting them out of one's life, or that they have died. Red is also associated with either the feminine or the masculine (yin and yang respectively), depending on the source. The Little Red Book, a collection of quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, founding father of the People's Republic of China (PRC), was published in 1966 and widely distributed thereafter.

In Japan, red is a traditional color for a heroic figure. In the Indian subcontinent, red is the traditional color of bridal dresses, and is frequently represented in the media as a symbolic color for married women. The color is associated with purity, as well as with sexuality in marital relationships through its connection to heat and fertility. It is also the color of wealth, beauty, and the goddess Lakshmi.

In Central Africa, Ndembu warriors rub themselves with red paint during celebrations. Since their culture sees the color as a symbol of life and health, sick people are also painted with it. Like most Central African cultures, the Ndembu see red as ambivalent, better than black but not as good as white. In other parts of Africa, however, red is a color of mourning, representing death. Because red bears are associated with death in many parts of Africa, the Red Cross has changed its colors to green and white in parts of the continent.

The early Ottoman Turks led by the first Ottoman Sultan, Osman I, carried red banners symbolizing sovereignty, Ghazis and Sufism, until according to legend he saw a new red flag in his dream inlaid with a crescent.