Andrea here. February has been a very dreary month here where I live. The skies have been unremittingly grey, with bitterly cold temperatures and alternating snow and rain flurries. It’s really had me feeling blue.
Which got me to thinking . . . why is feeling down or in the dumps called “feeling blue”? Blue happens to be my favorite color. For me it conjures up happy images—I picture bright blue skies, sparkling turquoise Mediterranean waters, the soft shimmering hues of an aquamarine ring, baby-blue sapphires and richly hued hydrangeas.
Indeed, I love all shades of blue, from dark navy and aquamarine to muted steel blues, to the brighter shades of cerulean and robin’s egg blue. So I decided to take a quick look at the history of “Blue” . . . and here are a few random facts that I found.
First, let’s look at the science of the color blue. It’s one of the three primary colors, and the human eye perceives the many shades of blue from wavelengths that lie between approximately 450 and 495 nanometers. The sky and sea appear blue because of an optical phenomena called Rayleigh Scattering, named after Lord Rayleigh, a 19th century physicist. Apparently, when sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the blue wavelengths are scattered more widely by oxygen and nitrogen molecules, and thus our eyes detect more blue. The ocean produces the same effect. It’s also an interesting fact that things in the distance tend to take on a blueish tinge (again, it has to do with scattering lightwaves in the atmosphere.) That’s why mountains often appear blue
Blue has had an artistic allure for many cultures since ancient times. Lapis lazuli, a semi-precious stone, was used by the early Egyptians, both as jewelry and ground up into powder to create a pigment for decorative paintings of their tombs. Laps lazuli also featured prominently in the art of the Renaissance—it was called ultramarine blue and was very expensive. In China during the 8th century, cobalt blue—which is made by sintering cobalt oxide with aluminium oxide—was used to decorate pottery. Turquoise was considered a healing stone by indigenous peoples in America. And of course the indigo plant yielded a popular blue dye throughout the world. (Think blue jeans!)
So why the negative connotations? There are a number of speculations.
The word “blue deviled”—meaning plagued by sadness or depression—first occurred in England the early 1600’s. Then in the early 1700s, the British Navy had a ritual of flying a blue flag and painting a blue stripe around the hull of a ship if the captain or other officer died during the voyage. (An ancillary to that is the fact that body appears blueish right after death, so maybe that has something to do with the custom.)
Another speculation is that “the blues” derived from West African rituals marking death and bereavement, in which the participants all wore clothing dyed with indigo, thus they were all wearing blue..
In literature, Chaucer used the term “blue” to refer to sadness in his poem Complaint of Mars, written around 1385. In 1807, Washington Irving used the term ‘the blues”, which some speculate was a shortening of “the blue devils.” Later in the century, the African-American communities n the South began adopting the term for a type of music that was sung about the trials and tribulations of life.
However, for many, blue is not a symbol of sadness—it’s a symbol of strength and masculinity. The British Navy adopted “navy” blue for its uniforms in the 1700s, and it became a standard color for police and other branches of the military during the 1800s. During the 1940s and early 1950s, it became the symbolic color for baby boys.
Many religions seem to have a positive view on blue. In Christianity, blue symbolizes Heaven and Truth. Judaism also equates it with the sky and spirituality, and Hanukkah decorations are traditionally blue. Hinduism sees it as representing strength and determination—Krishna is often depicted with a blue face. In Islam blue is widely used in mosques, illuminated books and other decorative arts.
Though my brief research revealed that for many people, the color blue is a symbol of coldness and remoteness, I find it a very cheerful, peaceful and relaxing color. What about you? Do you like or dislike blue? Do you have a different favorite color?
(all images courtesy of wikicommons media)
Fascinating, Andrea–this is something I’ve never thought about, much less researched in depth. I wouldn’t say that blue is my favorite color–that would be burgundy–but there are many shades of blue that I love, especially the darker ones. I love that gorgeous Islamic door above!
Thanks, Mary Jo. It suddenly struck me to wonder why “the blues” are called the “blues.” Lots of interesting theories . . . Hmm, what about “seeing red?”
I don’t actually have a favorite color, but I love most shades of blue. I think of it as a relaxing, peaceful color rather than sad or depressing. Interesting post.
So do I, Mary! And “blue skies” is certainly a very positive image. It’s fascinating as to how sayings come into being.
Blue is indeed a wonderful color with many variations. I find it to be very relaxing too. I also love the blues genre of music. That’s probably not relaxing though. Lol. My favorite color is mostly yellow & I love that combination of bright yellow & primary blue!
Jeanne, I love your combination of yellow and blue, which is hugely popular in Greece and Provence for interior house colors. Add sunshine and the effect is so cheery!
Blues and blues—yes, both both strike a chord with me!
What a colorful and fascinating post, Andrea; I enjoyed all of the pictures you included. I first encountered The Blue Boy as a child in Australia when I (and many other children) collected what were known as Swap Cards. I’m guessing that that is a fad that is long gone though I can’t help but wonder now whatever happened to my collection of cards.
My favorite color is red, but I don’t mind blue which is my husband’s favorite color.
So glad you enjoyed the post, Kareni. Australia had the equivalent of baseball cards for ART? How fabulous! Another reason to love Australia!
I would love to have collected them as a kid.
Here’s a brief piece about swap cards, Andrea. Interestingly, it mentions the Blue Boy. I was swapping/collecting such cards in the sixties.
The link might help!
https://melbourneplayingcardcollectors.com.au/history-card-collecting/
This is so wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this, Andrea – I love all shades of blue but especially deep cobalt. When my husband proposed (oh so many years ago), he knew better than to offer me a diamond – my engagement ring is lapis lazuli, and for a recent anniversary, we had our shower stall re-tiled in, yep, cobalt blue tiles. Sadly, he has blue/green color blindness, so most blues look brown to him.
Lapis lazuli is so lovely, Constance! Much nicer, and much more personality, IMO, than diamonds.
What a shame your hubby can’t see the beauty of blue.
For me, I feel the color blue as a spiritual color of upliftment. I like sapphire stones or crystals. Lapis Lazuli is gorgeous. It’s a vibrant color that is so soothing and joyful.
I find blue very calming, Patricia, and love most every blue stone—aquamarine is quite beautiful, too. And a blueish-green turquoise stone is also quite appealing!
Same weather here Andrea so a beautiful blue sky is very appealing right now! Any shade of purple is my favourite colour. I love it. Not too far away from blues really. My engagement ring is a sapphire, a dark one. Like Constance, diamonds are not on my radar at all!
Very interesting post!
I love sapphires, Teresa! Wonderful choice. I am not a diamond fan either.
Thanks for the post. I really like the musical blues. Louis Armstrong playing St Louis Woman. I love the color of the deep blue sea. The sky when it is soft and bright all at the same time. I have some special blue glass pieces that make me smile when I look at them. I have quite a few pieces of clothing which are aqua colored. And though I have never had one, I would love an aquamarine pair of earrings. Yes Blue in all its glory is my favorite color. But, I also am a fan of green like the leaves of a live oak tree. And brown the color of a fresh cup of cocoa. And a male cardinal is my favorite bird for his lovely eye catching color.
I do love blue. But, when I think about it, color is such a huge blessing to me. I mean who would want to live in a world that looks like an old black and white photo?
I love your poetry on blue and all those other colors you love, Annette! Yes, color of all hues makes our surrounding so interesting and beautiful. While I love many black and white photos, I wouldn’t want to live in a black and white world.
What a lovely interesting post, Andrea. I love the pictures, especially the one with the Islamic tiles. Blue is one of my favorite colors. I also find it both calming and cheerful.
And it bas such interesting mood variations, fro the blue of Carribean waters, to the midnight blue of a velvety sky at night, the light blue kf a summer’s sky and the postcard blue sky in the spring. Iam it sure why blue is chosen to feel sad when blue is not at all that way at all(welllll…maybe a dingy bluish gray…😉😊
Glad you enjoyed the pictures, Jane. There are so many beautiful Islamic images made of blue tiles—really spectacular. And many illuminated books of wonderful decorative designs that feature blue.
Blue is a very restful color, I think it’s recommended as a bedroom paint color. I especially love teal and indigo.
Ah, teal. I do love that shade of blue as well. I have a lot of blue in my bedroom, and I agree that it is a very restful color.
Both my bedroom a d bathroom are done in blue. I love it in the bathroom as it makes me think of being in water and is very soothing, the light blue tiles kn the floor look like a very impessionistic wispy sky and my bedroom js in varying shades of Wedgwood blue which is also very soothing and cool in the summer months. Sometimes i feel like I am floating in the sky on a cloud……