RED IS A LOVELY COLOR

Red--blood red, red hot,

power red, flashing red light, red devil, red carpet treatment, fire red, red herring, red flags, the red eye, paint the town red, in the red, red alert, red letter day….conjures up a plethora of meanings.

DID YOU KNOW?

Red is theorized to be the first color perceived by Neolithic Man. (Temporarily brain injured persons, upon healing, perceive red first.) Ancient burial bones have been found covered with ochre red or iron oxide. Prehistoric cave painters used red to color their artwork. The ancient Egyptians considered themselves a red race and painted their bodies with henna, a red dye. The early Roman red wedding veils, flammeum, were worn to bring love and fertility. From Adonis's blood grew the red rose. Cupid and Satan both were dressed in red.

DID YOU KNOW?

To the Russian, red meant beauty. In China, red meant luck. Zuni and Chinese people connected red with South, while Mayans related it to East. For Celts, it was the color of death, and Polynesians considered it a sacred color. The Chinese also considered it the color of happiness and children were named with red being part of the ceremony. Brides throughout the East still wear red, while in South Africa red is yet worn for mourning. Red is the most common color in national flags.

DID YOU KNOW?

Physically, red enhance your metabolism. It can increase the respiration rate and raise your blood pressure too. Its high visibility is the reason it's used on fire equipment, stop lights and signs. In heraldry red connotes courage. The ad business knows to use red to bring text and images to your attention. It's the perfect color for "the easy button", "buy here", "click here" . It associates easily with high energy to advertise sports cars, drinks, or games.

DID YOU KNOW?

In the mystical world, the chakra of red symbolizes energy, action, confidence, courage, change, passion and strength. If your psyche has too much red, you lose your temper, get agitated easily and anger comes too soon. There are overbearing, oppressive and even violent tendencies. Too little red and you might become fearful, lethargic, cautious, whiny, and ungrounded.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fashion consultants tell you to wear red when you need to get a job done. Need a lot of energy? Wear red. Want to be in control, sexy or desirable? Red's your color!

BUT

For me red is beautiful. It just fits the bottom of boats lightly rocking in the harbor. Red reminds me of my Danish friends. They always have red in every room. The poppy field in Denmark or the blooming poppy at the end of the

driveway makes my heart skip a beat all through June.

It encircles my grandchild's smiling face with hooded joy. The red heart sent by him in February graces the fridge and makes me remember the visit in January.

 Every time there's a red sunset on Lake Michigan in our town, we all flock down to admire and photograph yet another one.

The red mittens a friend made have kept my hands warm all winter.

 I love my red velvet dress and so do all my children at school who lovingly run their fingers over my sleeve and down my skirt. The maple tree down the road glows brilliant in its red dress by

September's end.

Red is a lovely color!