White


 * History of Color:**


 * Symbolism (What the color represents!):**

White projects purity, cleanliness, and neutrality. Doctors don white coats, brides traditionally were white gowns and a white picket fence surrounds a safe and happy home.

How the color white affects us mentally and physically
 * aids mental clarity
 * encourages us to clear clutter or obstacles
 * evokes purification of thoughts or actions
 * enables fresh beginning

White is the color of the moon, and in Imperial Rome, China, and India, it is also the color of death. The custom of brides wearing white on their wedding day originated in Ancient Greece; the temple dedicated to the goddess Athena was created in white marble, so the color white came to signify virginity.

Other meanings: purity, neutrality, sterility, youth, cleanliness, peace, light, reverence, truth, innocence, simplicity, security, humility, coldness, surrender, fearfulness, hope


 * International Significance:**
 * White is the traditional color worn by brides in the western world, as well as in Japan.
 * White is a color of mourning in China and parts of Africa.
 * It was the custom for the Queens of France to wear //deuil blanc// or "white mourning"
 * White was the color of deepest mourning among medieval European queens was white rather than black. This tradition survived in Spain until the end of the fifteenth century.
 * In Chinese culture, colors corresponded with the five primary elements, the directions, and the four seasons. White was associated with metal, west, and autumn.
 * A white flag is universally recognized as a symbol of truce.
 * The Japanese have six distinct terms to define whiteness.
 * The ancient Greeks wore white to bed to ensure pleasant dreams.
 * In Christianity, a white lily represents the Madonna.
 * On Yom Kippur the Grand Rabbi dresses in white to restore an amiicable relationship between God and his people.
 * In the Bible, white represents the color of light and is an emblem of the divine.


 * Literature (uses of color in literature):**
 * White Christmas: the appearance of snow on Christmas day
 * White elephant: a possession that no longer holds value for its owner
 * White flag: the signal of a peaceful surrender
 * White goods: a description of household items, such as linens, towels, and appliances
 * White hot: extreme manner of intensity
 * White lie: a harmless untruth usually told out of politeness
 * White sauce: a sauce made from stock, butter, flour and seasonings
 * White feather: a symbol of cowardice
 * "White...is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black...God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white." -- G. K. Chesterton
 * "The first of all single colors is white ... We shall set down white for the representative of light, without which no color can be seen; yellow for the earth; green for water; blue for air; red for fire; and black for total darkness." -- Leonardo Da Vinci
 * "ELOQUENCE, n. The art of orally persuading fools that white is the color that it appears to be. It includes the gift of making any color appear white." -- Ambrose Bierce
 * “Black and white are absolute...expressing the most delicate vibration, the most profound tranquility, and unlimited profundity.” -- Shiko Munakata
 * “Never use pure white; it doesn't exist in nature.” -- Aldro T. Hibbard
 * “The great black and white draftsman, the sculptor, and the blind man know that form and color are separate. The form itself is what the blind man knows...Color is surface skin that fits over the form.” -- John Sloan
 * “White covers a multitude of sins.” -- Jonathan Milne


 * Links:**

http://www.squidoo.com/colorexpert http://www.sensationalcolor.com/color-messages-meanings/color-meaning-symbolism-psychology/all-about-the-color-white.html http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/colors/Colors.html
 * References:**