Red and Green the most beautiful combination

The holiday season is upon us and as the song says “ It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” In spite of COIVD I am actually enjoying the fact that many retailers have already decorated for the December 25 celebration. It helps to take my mind off of current events and takes me to a place that I love. For me, one of the most beautiful aspects of Christmas is the combination of the colors red and green. I enjoy shopping in stores and visiting homes where these hues dominate. There is something enticing about this color combo that gives me a comfortable warm fuzzy feeling. I look forward to seeing the green and red every holiday season.

From candy, and cookies, to ugly sweaters and wrapping paper, red and green dominate the holiday season. When these colors appear it's a signal to me that the time of joy is almost here. I delight in seeing emerald and crimson boldly placed together and for about 6 weeks at the end of every year, I am filled with peace and contentment. No one knows for certain how these two colors came to be associated with Christmas but there is one theory that has evolved in many churches. The green represents the evergreen tree and eternal life through Christ, whose birth s observed on December 25. The red is suggested to point to His crucifixion when his blood was shed.

I could find no secular explanations regarding any other reasons why these colors are utilized. I assume that most people simply go with the flow of tradition and do not research or particularly care about the roots of why emerald and ruby are paired together. All I know is that these hues are popular, come with the season and I love being surrounded by them. Sometimes I linger, in the store aisles during the holidays where the products are red and green. I have noticed over the decades that almost everyone who observes December 25th uses these colors in some form.

When I was in elementary school students were allowed to decorate the classrooms for the holidays. Today this cannot be done because of the fact that Christmas is seen as a Christian holiday and schools cannot seem to favor one religious celebration over another. Back in the late 1960s one of my favorite memories was when teachers gave students red and green construction paper to make bracelets. They were stapled together and intertwined in a pattern of red, green, red green etc. we hung them in the classroom after Thanksgiving and were allowed to take them home for the holidays.

Christmas just would not be the same to me without red and green combinations. I can recall the 1970s when the silver metallic trees were in use and you had to purchase what looked like a fan to set on the floor and it turned around and cast different colors on the tree. This just was not the same to me as an evergreen or artificial green tree. Many people were using red and blue ornaments which did not look anything like the red and green combination. I was so happy when these trees went out of style. Holiday plants also come in red and green, including holly, mistletoe. and poinsettias.

Back in the day, teachers would wear red and or green sweaters or caps on the last day of school before the holiday. Many students dressed the same way. The entire building in those days would have holiday decor and the majority of it would be green and red. Many people enjoy the customs without giving a thought to the origin or original purpose for the winter celebration. I am amazed each year at all the goodies that come in red and green. Sixlets candies, M&Ms, and a Hershey’s chocolates in the plastic candy cane are all green and red. After the holiday these items can be purchased for 50% to 75% off and I really rack up for my family between December 26 and New Year.

Every year from Thanksgiving until the second week in January I use plates and drinking glasses that have red and green designs on them. I purchase green and red table cloths and string garland of the same color throughout the house. It gives my home a festive feeling that I truly enjoy. Many hotels decorate their tables with green and red napkins. Some people do the same in their homes during the Christmas season. I especially enjoy seeing houses that have those old school large red and green lights wrapped around the roof. There are many new traditions but I do not believe the combination of green and red will ever fade away.

There is one local hotel, The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center that displays Christmas trees each year from local businesses. There are always hundreds of trees to see and they are pretty unique. I've seen trees decorated with toys, and small vehicles. I have observed trees that were totally purple, pink, or orange. In spite of all the diversity, I am still drawn to those that are green and have ruby and emerald ornaments. I am simply drawn to these colors and that is why red and green cookies and candies fill my home and my grandchildren delight in these goodies.

Each year once the Hershy Kisses television commercial comes on, I know it's time to begin shopping for all things green and red. One of my favorite holiday commercials is when the red and green M&M's realize Santa Claus is real. There really is no way to explain it or put it into words, but there is something wondrous that happens to me when these two colors are combined during the holidays. The rest of the year it's just not the same. I will always believe that red and green together during the holidays will always be the perfect paring of colors.