The Grinch may have stole Christmas, but Christmas owns the colors red and green. By the time we become adults we have seen this combination millions of times and it is burned into our subconscious. When we see these two colors used together we immediately associate them with Christmas.
It can be July and we can be looking at an ad for Turtle Wax, but when we see red and green, our brain thinks Christmas. For this reason, it’s a color combination rarely used for anything outside of this holiday. The color scheme’s exclusivity has become self-perpetuating!
There are several theories to why green and red are the Christmas colors. The Christian faith believes that green symbolizes everlasting life and red symbolizes the blood of Christ. This is by far the most popularly held belief.
Another theory dates back to the 14th Century when churches put on religious plays. In December, the production would reenact the scene in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. An evergreen tree was brought in to serve as the Tree of Life, since it was the only tree green at this time of year. Red apples were hung on the tree. The green symbolizes the tree and the color red symbolizes the apples. As the story goes, the people liked this so much they started bringing trees into their own homes and decorating them, starting the tradition of the Christmas tree.
Many cultures prior to the death of Christ used evergreen trees and holly as decoration in the cold winter months. The Pagan festival of the Yule used the colors of red, green, silver and gold. Once again the same colors repeat.
This is one holiday that is easy on retailers because they can say “Christmas” by using green and red without the risk of being politically incorrect. With December 25th fast approaching, be sure to get the most out of these seasonal colors before they go back in the closet to keep orange and black company.
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