Colours are all around, expressing feelings, communicating emotions and sometimes even changing our behavior. Colours are so important in our lives that we give them cultural meanings to express the way we fell when surrounded by them.

The world of colours is magical and Faber-Castell wants to invite you to get to know all about it. In this page we are going to tell you a bit more about the exciting historic and cultural use of some colours.

 

For the Egyptians:  Represented the hope and the joy of spring.

For the Japaneses: Represents life and is largely used in New Year's decorations.

                                The emperor birthday is known as 'Green Day' because loved to garden.

Western World:       During the Renascence, Brides used to wear green to represent fertility.

It is the favourite colour of more than half of the world's population.

Many cultures associate blue with the sky and the ocean, that's why this colour is symbolic for calmness, contemplation and sadness. 

 

In Greek mythology, it is the colour of Mercury, the communicator of mental and spiritual illumination.

It is the royal colour in China. During the Ch'ing Dynasty; only the emperor could wear it.  

It is associated with fire, energy, passion and love, but is also associated with rage and war.

In Greek mythology, it was the colour designed for the planet Mars and god of war.

In China, it is the colour of happiness; they believe this colour promotes long life and good luck. Red is used for New Year's celebrations and is the colour worn by Chinese Brides.

In many Asian cultures wearing white represents mourning.

It represents purity, the begining of a new life.

Jewish, Christian and Hindu religions use the colour white in rituals to indicate purity and inner peace.

 
  • 97% of 107 flags in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and United States contain red, blue, green or yellow. The colour of the rings in the olympic flag represent at least one colour from every national flag of contries in the world.
  • During the Renaissance black was worn by nobility and represented wealthy

  • During the Protestant Reformation, puritans imposed fines on people who wore bright coloured clothing. They believed in sober dress and ornament.
  • The cultural meaning of some colours are reflected in the language:

    Blackmail, green with youth, green with envy, red carpet, true blue, etc

 
It is known that certain colour combinations in flags are not unique.  For example, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia use red, white, and blue in their national flags.  Red meaning the blood shed for liberty, white for purity, and blue meaning the domination over sky and sea.