Colour  and Culture

Blue is associated with trust and control and is used for police uniforms, mailboxes and the canton on the United States flag. Popular in business across Europe because it symbolises reliability, blue is used in the EU flag and denotes purity when used at weddings.

For Hindus, blue is the colour of Krishna. The Blue Peafowl is India’s national bird and the Dharma Chakra on the Indian flag is also blue. On the national flag, blue is believed to symbolise Australia as an island continent and to represent the vast oceans crossed by the first settlers.

The ancient Egyptians believed green to represent growth, healing and the inundated Nile. Green is also used to represent Islam. In addition to Pakistan being predominantly Islamic, the green in the country’s national flag is also believed to represent prosperity.

The colour green symbolises African hope and aspirations and represents the natural richness of Africa.

Considered a most auspicious colour by the Chinese, red is used extensively, particularly for celebration. For Russians, red represents bravery, valor and love. The words for red and beautiful have the same root in spoken Russian: 'kras'.

The Japanese believe the colour red represents good health, vitality and long life. Red is often used at wedding receptions to bring luck.