Red and green-- beautiful colors of the holidays that bring to mind warm fireplaces in log cabins, the scent of pine needles and hot chocolate, and plump red holly berries.
These colors surround us at this time of year, but did you ever wonder why?
Apparently, Green is a representation of eternal life -- the evergreen tree survives the harsh cold winter and comes out strong. Christian belief takes this analogy and compares it to the eternal life of Jesus Christ, with red being the blood shed from the crucifixion.
Here's a look at the history of red and green and Christmas from
cultural-anthropology.suite101.com
"Back in the 14th Century, churches presented Miracle Plays—religious plays used to educate the illiterate public. Traditionally on December 24, the church presented The Paradise Play, the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. And in place of an apple tree—as they weren’t available in winter—they fastened apples to the branches of a pine tree. Using a pine to represent the Tree of Good and Evil became a common practice among churches and they began incorporating the tree into their Christmas displays each year. But it didn’t stop there. Following the church’s example, people began assembling pine trees in their homes and decorating them with red apples. This act introduced two modern traditions: the Christmas tree and our seasonal colors, green for the pine tree and red for the apples."
The picture above is a cornucopia of green and red finds from my store HeyViv.com, and a few other lovely hand made holiday pics from Etsy.com . Enjoy!
Hey Viv!
Source:
Cultural Anthropology Suite 101
