Valentine’s Day, February 14, is known around the world as a day to celebrate love and romance. Valentine’s day has its roots in ancient traditions and the festival of Lupercalia, dedicated to fertility and the Roman god of agriculture, Faunus. In Christian times the church wanted to take over this pagan festival and they renamed it St Valentine’s day after the saint who laid down his life on this day because of his religious belief in a Christian God. Which of the three St Valentine’s the church referred to is unclear. What we do know is that all three Valentine’s are portrayed as romantic and sympathetic heroes.
Red as an attraction
In the animal kingdom, females are attracted to the red color on males. For animals it symbolises high-status, yet this seems to be the case with women too, who see red as a romantic color. Throughout history, red has been the color of passion, romance and sexual energy. Studies show that women find men more attractive and sexually desirable when shown photos of men on a red background or dressed in red. Red lips and blushed cheeks stimulate arousal. A red dress is a style color that attracts attention and captures the imagination. Driving a red sports car is another style color considered sexy.
A stimulant red is the hottest of the warm colors. The psychological effects of the color red are very easy to notice as it brings the energy of joy, excitement and passion into your home, further explaining why it is the color for Valentines day. In Feng Shui red represents the fire element which relate to emotions. Strong reds are yang because of their intensity.
The color red has long been understood to represent life, love, war and death. In the bible, the first human life in all creation was a man named Adam. In Hebrew “Adam” can be translated as either “man” or “red.” The bible states that Adam was the first man to experience both friendship and romantic love with Eve, but they forgot their first love – God – and so Jesus came to earth as the human sacrifice for this original sin. The color red of Valentine’s Day is, in the eyes of the church, is a reminder of the blood of Christ that was willingly spilled to demonstrate God’s passionate love for mankind. The church decreed that St. Valentine lost his life because he would not deny the one that he loved, Christ.
Internationally, red is also seen as a strong symbolic color. In China red is the best color for luck and happiness. In India it is the romantic color worn by the bride on her wedding day.
Red and other color roses
The color of red is the major color affiliated with lovers on Valentine’s day. Traditionally, it is red roses that are specially reserved for intimate, romantic relationships. Red is a color associated with energy, strength, power and danger, but when it comes to roses, red represents passion, deep love and desire. Red roses for your lover, pink roses for your mother and yellow roses for friends are gifts that are traditionally exchanged to those we are close to.
Whilst red is the predominant color on Valentine’s day lovers, other colors are symbolic too. Many Valentine’s day gifts are in colors that are especially significant to the relationship or may be meaningful for being the recipient’s favorite color.
When it comes to roses, white roses as Valentine’s day gifts symbolize spiritual love, purity, reverence and humility. They can also express faithfulness. Mix the two and pink represents affection, sweetness and understanding. Light pink can represent grace, gentility, admiration and friendship. Dark pink symbolizes gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness.
Orange is the color of enthusiasm and fascination. Yellow represents gladness, joy and friendship and there are many others. Mixing colors in a bouquet or arrangement also holds meaning. Red and yellow are celebratory colors that offer congratulations.
Dress code color red
Flowers are not unique in giving meaning through color on Valentine’s day. There is an unusual color code for your dress on the day also. The color you wear on Valentine’s day indicates the status or mood of you both as an individual and in some cases, also as a couple. The color red means that you are already in love. Wearing pink means that you have accepted a proposal. For those who wish it to be known through their attire that they are going to propose, wear orange. White means that you are already taken. If you want to make it known that you are looking for love, wear blue or if waiting for a proposal wear green. Be kind to those who wear yellow, for they have a broken relationship and those who wear brown have broken hearts. Wearing grey or purple simply means that the person is not interested in looking for love at this time, but may be next time. And finally, black is worn by someone who has rejected a proposal.