seeing red

chinese new year (CNY) – angpow, fire-crackers, ‘chai’ (door banner), dresses/ t-shirts most people wore during CNY – all red colour!. every departmental stores and hotels you go, you see red, red, red, red decorations.

well, i thought after ‘chap goh meh’ (15th night), no more red, but whaddya know… out popped red roses, red hearts, red ribbons… for valentine’s day.

then in between all these, i see red (again) when 12 eldery chinese men were stripped to their underwear and shaven bald after they were detained for playing a friendly old chinese traditional game, mahjung. the red colour flared up again when those stupid radical muslims took to the streets with violence and riot by burning down buildings and flags and in the process 11 people were killed.

to continue reading, please click on ‘more’ below.
(oops. and i’m all the time using the above in red… including the hover url i have in my blog).

red, red, red – boy i think i’m going to get fed-up of red. i don’t particularly like the red colour, not espcially on dresses. well if it is a red blouse/t-shirt that goes with a pants/skirts, that’s fine but not when whole suit is red.

do you know that the colour red used to play an important role in politics? yes indeed. red became the symbol of communism and socialism during the russian revolution in 1907. red color had usually a positive connotation in cold countries like russia throughout history. red army’s alternative name was “glorious army” and russian words for red (krassnyj) and beautiful (krassivyj) are very similiar. the bolsheviks in russia used a red flag when they overthrew the tsar, thus red became associated with communism. western cultures frowned upon red color in its political sense. “better dead than red” was popular in cold war days in the US. black swastika of the national socialists was painted on red background to suggest association with the working classes.
above info. taken from webexhibits.

if you are observant enough, you would have notice that red is the most frequently used color for national flags. why? it is because mostly due to its excellent visibility. our own national flag has red colour.

do you know that to the chinese, red is an auspicious colour but to the south africans, it s a colour of mourning.

the colour red too had been used in lots of phrase like:

good red
* red letter day – important or significant occasion
* red carpet treatment – make someone feel special, treat them as if they are a celebrity
* roll out the red carpet – same as above
* red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight – pay attention to

good and bad warning signs
* paint the town red – celebrate, go out partying
* red eye – an overnight flight

bad red
* red herring – something that deceives or distracts attention from the truth
* in the red – being overdrawn at the bank or losing money
* red flag – denotes danger, warning, or an impending battle
and of course:
* seeing red – to be angry