Good Luck is Red and Green

An analysis of color and culture

By: Janisa Cook

Illustration by Sam Fozard

We as humans associate colors with certain emotions or adjectives. Consider the color red. What do you think of?

Most people associate the color red with passion, excitement, love or even danger, according to a study on the psychological effects of color.  

Now think of the color blue. Perhaps you picture the ocean or the sky? How does thinking about the color blue make you feel? Most likely, thinking of blue gives you a different feeling than the color red. But why is that? 

“Color psychology is the effect of color on one’s psyche,” explains Steven Bleicher, a visual arts professor at Coastal Carolina University. Color can have both psychological and physiological effects. Bleicher reveals that most hospital waiting rooms are light blue because that color helps calm people down.

Humans aren’t born with specific associations with colors. Children are naturally drawn to primary colors. According to Bleicher, biology plays a small role in our feelings towards certain colors—for example, black and yellow can invoke a sense of danger since many animals wearing those colors are poisonous. It is mainly the culture that surrounds us as we age that shapes our perception of what colors mean, Bleicher said.

While variances may occur across cultures in how certain colors are perceived, some colors have a fairly universal meaning -- namely, blue and green.

“I would say blue and green probably have the most positive aspects. Blue because it's air and water and green because again, in almost all religions, green has a relationship to the earth and fertility that would be positive,” Bleicher says. “Red, and again depending upon how it's used, could be [associated with] evil.”

Universally, blue and green tend to have the most positive connotations. The color red has the most variance across cultures.

“If you go throughout Europe and Asia, a hospital or a pharmacy has a green cross in front of it whereas in America, it's a red cross,” Bleicher reveals. “And so, a lot of cultures would not like that red cross because the red is blotted. It's got a negative aspect to it.”

Many Americans, when picturing first aid in their mind, think of a red cross over a white background. In actuality, the red cross is not a public-domain first aid symbol.

A green cross is most commonly used in health care internationally and generally symbolizes first aid. A red cross is only used for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

In addition to first aid, many Americans associate the color red negatively. Historically, the color red has symbolized the blood of Jesus Christ and the fires of hell. Red is also associated with political/economic theories of socialism and communism -- theories which were and still are frowned upon in the U.S. Furthermore, signs symbolizing stop, or warnings are often colored red. In many ways, red is seen as a negative color in America, or at least a hue to draw alarm. Yet the ideas surrounding the color red change if you look at some Eastern countries.

“For example, in China red is a lucky colour. People are given red envelopes containing money at New Year and other special occasions,” said Stephen Westland, a professor of color science and technology at the University of Leeds, via email. “But in Europe and the USA I do not believe that red is associated with good luck— I think green is. Can you guess why?”

“I would maybe say green [is the color of good luck in America],” muses Shan Robinson, a second-year Western student. “That’s the color of money and also growth, that’s what I associate [green] with.”

Robinson is Chinese American. Their background provides a unique perspective on how two different cultures perceive colors.

“In Chinese culture, red is associated with good fortune and blessings and growth, especially for the new year,” Robinson said. “In my opinion, it’s the most prominent color in our culture.”

When thinking about the color red, one thing that comes to mind for Robinson is Chinese New Year decorations.

“In the Chinese New Year red is both used to draw luck and fortune. But then also used to scare away monsters essentially,” Robinson explains. “So Chinese New Year originated because the story is that a monster was coming down from the mountains at the end of winter when there was no food and eating all the people and all the people's food. And so the people would put up red signs and light red firecrackers to scare the monster away. So it's kind of an outward color. It's used to display and nowadays it's mainly decorations and we're not really scared of monsters.”

Shan mentions additional red items common to Chinese New Year, such as the red envelopes.

“They're called hongbao, which literally just means red bag or envelope and they’re envelopes that contain money and older people will give them to younger people. It's a tradition for good fortune. And it's very much also a thing of respect. You hold it with two hands when you're giving and receiving it and you also bow and thank whoever's giving you a red envelope.”

Shan explains that their favorite red item is a qipao they inherited from their mother. The dress is made of embroidered red silk.

“It's probably the fanciest piece of clothing I own and it's bright red. And it makes me feel very pretty when I have it on.”

The colors you wear carry different meanings depending on the culture you are surrounded by. For Shan, their red dress qipao carries luck and makes them feel beautiful.

Bleicher, who spent eight years at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, states that the color you wear can affect how your audience, or the public, perceives you. For example, Bleicher suggests that you wear navy blue to a job interview.

“Wear navy blue because it has very positive aspects to it,” Bleicher advises. “It tends to have this feeling of authority which will go all the way back to Mary and how Mary in all of the stories of Jesus is portrayed in dark blue robes.”

He also says that wearing black could have a negative perception in an interview because, in Western culture, black is considered a somber color. Additionally, the colors you wear can hold different meanings based on your personal feelings and associations with those colors.

My mother’s favorite color is purple. In Thailand, purple is a mourning color for widows. It is often seen as an unlucky color for women to wear. Despite being born and raised in Thailand and growing up with the cultural association that purple is for widows, my mother decided to wear a purple silk dress for her wedding reception.

While many pointed out this as a faux pas, saying it would bring bad luck, my mother simply said that she would wear purple because she loves the color and it makes her feel beautiful. Colors do have meaning shaped by culture, yet at the end of the day, you should wear a color that makes you feel happy and beautiful — whether it’s red, green or even purple.