Who is afraid of black or white--or red?

Black is taboo to the Chinese, but in the

California of old, Hispanic brides made their

vows in black. White is a no-no to wear to an

Indian wedding but it signifies friendship and

luck to the Afghans.

My friend, a highly educated, accomplished woman

of the 21st century, works in the throbbing

metropolis of Makati, occupying a very powerful

position in a thriving company. Her job entails

invitations that require her to attend social

gatherings in formal attire. And what color is more

formal than black?

On such days, however, she had to plan some kind

of an escape: she would wear her black outfit

inside another colored one, and with uncertain

feelings, hoped that she could leave home without

her mother-in-law's questioning. For the Chinese,

black clothing is a taboo. The paranoid would not

even permit their children to wear black shoes.

They could only change to black outside the

house.

Black and white

I came across a book, "Multicultural Manners" by

Norine Dresser, that records the idiosyncratic fears

of different cultures. Focusing only on the area of

colors, you will definitely be boggled by what

different colors mean to different cultures. For

example, it is not allowed for guests to wear white

when attending an Indian wedding. So when the

Afghans who believe wearing white symbolizes

friendship, luck, and harmony come to the

wedding, they are shooed away. It would be

interesting to attend a wedding where the groom is

Afghan and the bride is Indian.

When attending a Chinese wedding, female guests

should not wear black or white. The wedding party

will interpret this as a hostile act as both colors

are associated with death. Yet it is recorded that

in the 19th century California, Hispanic brides took

their vows in black.

White, on different occasions - baptism, wedding,

mourning - is indeed a tricky color! White flowers

are not romantic, mind you. For most Asians, they

have death connotations. I found myself being

gently reprimanded once for wearing a nice white

decorative flower on my hair. It is also recorded

that an American company could not sell their

white colored appliances to the Chinese in Hong

Kong until they started to ship almond colored

refrigerators.

Yellow and green

Among the Chinese, stories that contain "green"

materials - as in green jokes - are called "yellow

books". Somebody must have a problem telling

green from yellow! The Chinese also use a yellow

marker to identify a defective product. They use

green markers to indicate products that have

passed inspection. Must be sharp with you

eyesight!

Yellow does not get a lot of respect from many

cultures. It is associated with cowardice. The

French streak a traitor's door with yellow paint;

Judas is often pictured in yellow. The Nazis made

Jews wear yellow stars; and Spanish executioners

wear yellow.

In Armenian culture, when you give yellow flowers,

it symbolizes "I miss you". But if the receiver

happens to be Iranian, her face will turn red. For

Iranians, yellow flowers represent the enemy.

Among the Mexicans yellow flowers are related to

funerals. The Peruvians do not welcome yellow

flowers, either.

It's rather ironic, and funny, for the Chinese, who

are sensitive to colors, to be the sons of the

"Yellow Emperor", and to be called the yellow race,

and for many to carry the surname of "Hwang",

"Wong" or "Uy" - all from the same word "yellow".

Now if you think green is great, it is, as it is

associated with health and prosperity. But no one

wants to wear a "green hat". In a busy trade

show, the exhibitors could not understand why the

Chinese patrons shun their booth. The booth was

giving away green hats, and the visitors dumped

them in the trash. For the Chinese, wearing "green

hats" mean a man's wife or girlfriend is cheating on

him.

Red

Red undoubtedly gets a lot of attention. Who does

not love to wear red when attending birthday

parties? Who does not see a lot of red in

preparation for a Chinese wedding- from the lamp

to the mirror, to the candy trays, down to the

slippers? A red letter day with a balance in the red,

indeed. And a "lai see" - red envelope with money

- is certainly welcome on New Year's Day, as a

birthday gift, or a wedding present. It was told

that a New Yorker girl thrust the red envelope

back to her male Chinese boss, thinking he was

making an offer for sexual favors.

And what does red ink bring to your mind? A

teacher's mark, of course, on your exam paper! A

teacher was hardworking and made careful

comments on her students' essays. To soften the

criticism and to make it more personable, she

wrote: "Jae Lee, these are fine ideas, but…etc."

The teacher was called to the principal's office

because the parents of the students were horrified

by the red marks and made a complaint. Koreans,

particularly those who are Buddhists, only write a

person's name in red at the time of death or at the

anniversary of a death. Among many Asians,

invitations should not print names in red letters. A

print shop confirmed that seldom would the Asians

order red lettering on stationary materials.