Document Type
News Article
Publication Date
12-7-1994
Abstract
Red and green, recognized by Americans as the indisputable colors of Christmas, actually have their origins in northern European pagan customs, according to two historians at the University of Dayton. Use of the two colors is based on very old associations and also some fairly new ones, they said. To the pagans in northern Europe, plants that had the ability to remain green throughout winter acquired a mystical significance, said Una Cadegan, an assistant professor of history at UD. Evergreens, holly and mistletoe also bore fruit the color of blood, another hue associated with life. Christianity co-opted those symbols and gave religious meaning to them.
Recommended Citation
University of Dayton, "For Pagans, Red and Green Symbolized Life: For Retailers, They've Come to Mean Profits" (1994). News Releases. 11875.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/news_rls/11875
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