Red
Blood, fire and festival: scarlet, crimson, vermilion, madder and the reds of brides and flags. 116 colours written up on Rang so far.
What red means, country by country
89 countries. The same colour, read differently.
The flag uses the four Pan-Arab colours: a red bar at the hoist with green, white and black bands. It was designed by a young Emirati, Abdullah Al Maainah, in 1971.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of the United Arab EmiratesThe flag is a black double-headed eagle on red, the banner of the fifteenth-century hero Skanderbeg. Fans chant Kuq e Zi, red and black.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of AlbaniaArmenian scribes painted manuscripts with vordan karmir, a crimson dye made from an insect that lives on the roots of grasses in the Ararat plain.
Sacred and holySource: Armenian cochinealUnder Juan Manuel de Rosas in the 1830s and 1840s, everyone had to wear a scarlet ribbon to show loyalty to his Federalist party. His enemies, the Unitarians, were tied to sky blue.
Politics and protestFearSource: Juan Manuel de RosasThe flag is red, white and red. Legend says Duke Leopold V's white tunic was soaked in blood at the siege of Acre, all but the band under his belt.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of AustriaRed ochre is used in Aboriginal rock art and ceremony, and is traded over long distances. In the Aboriginal flag the red half stands for the earth and for that ochre.
Sacred and holyNature and renewalAweSource: Australian Aboriginal flagThe flag is a red disc on a green field. The red is read both as the sun rising over Bengal and as the blood of those who died in the 1971 Liberation War.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of BangladeshOn Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year in April, women wear white saris with red borders and men wear red and white panjabis for the morning processions.
Festival and celebrationJoySource: Pohela BoishakhA Bengali Muslim bride usually marries in a red sari, often a Benarasi or a Jamdani, with gold jewellery.
Weddings and marriageLoveSource: Bengali Muslim weddingThe national football team is called the Red Devils, a name first used by a journalist in 1906 for the side's red shirts.
Festival and celebrationPrideSource: Belgium national football teamOn 1 March people give each other martenitsi, small tassels or dolls of red and white thread. They are worn until the first stork or blossoming tree is seen.
Protection and healingLuck and prosperityHopeSource: MartenitsaThe flag is red, yellow and green: red for the blood of the country's soldiers, yellow for its mineral wealth and green for the richness of its land.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of BoliviaRed is the colour of the Workers' Party, founded in 1980, whose symbol is a red star. Its rallies are a sea of red shirts and flags.
Politics and protestSource: Workers' Party (Brazil)A white, red and white flag was the state flag in 1918 and again from 1991 to 1995. It became the banner of the opposition in the protests of 2020.
Politics and protestCourageSource: White-red-white flagRed and white are the national colours. The flag, a red maple leaf between two red bars, was adopted in 1965 after a long debate in parliament.
Politics and protestPrideSource: National colours of CanadaOfficers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police wear the Red Serge, a scarlet tunic with a high collar, on ceremonial duty. It is one of the best known images of the country abroad.
Protection and healingTrustSource: Red SergeEmpty red dresses hung in public places stand for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The idea comes from the REDress Project by the Metis artist Jaime Black.
Mourning and deathProtection and healingGriefSource: REDress ProjectThe flag is a white cross on a red square, one of only two square national flags. The Red Cross emblem is the same design with the colours reversed, in honour of Switzerland.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of SwitzerlandThe copihue, a climbing plant with waxy red bell flowers, is the national flower. The men's football team plays in red and is called La Roja.
Nature and renewalPolitics and protestPrideSource: LapageriaThe flag is green, red and yellow with a gold star. Green is for the forests of the south, yellow for the sun and savanna of the north, and red for unity.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of CameroonRed stands for good fortune and happiness. Brides traditionally wear it, doors are hung with red couplets at New Year, and gifts of money come in red envelopes.
Luck and prosperityFestival and celebrationWeddings and marriageJoySource: Color in Chinese cultureThe national flag is red with five yellow stars. The red stands for the Communist revolution, and the same red runs through party banners and slogans.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of ChinaFor a century and a half, politics was a contest between the red of the Liberals and the blue of the Conservatives. Their fighting peaked in the years called La Violencia.
Politics and protestSource: Colombian Liberal PartyThe 26th of July Movement, which Fidel Castro led to power in 1959, flew a red and black flag. It still appears beside the national flag on public holidays.
Politics and protestCourageSource: 26th of July MovementDecorated Easter eggs are called kraslice, a name that comes from an old word for red. Girls give them to boys on Easter Monday.
Festival and celebrationLuck and prosperityJoySource: Easter eggRed is the colour of the Social Democrats. Coalitions are named by party colours: red, yellow and green make a "traffic light", and black, yellow and green a "Jamaica" coalition.
Politics and protestSource: Political colourThe flag, the Dannebrog, is a white cross on red. Legend says it fell from the sky during a battle in Estonia in 1219. Danes use it on birthday tables and Christmas trees.
Politics and protestSacred and holyPrideSource: DannebrogThe ancient Egyptians called the desert deshret, the red land. Red was the colour of the god Set, of chaos and of danger, and scribes wrote unlucky words in red ink.
Danger and warningFearSource: RedThe flag is red, white and black. Red recalls the struggle before the 1952 revolution, white the revolution itself, which was nearly bloodless, and black the end of oppression.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of EgyptThe flag is red and yellow, the rojigualda. The colours were chosen for the navy in 1785 because they stood out at sea, and the men's football team is called La Roja.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of SpainIn the last part of a bullfight the matador uses a small red cape, the muleta. Bulls do not see red as we do. It is the movement that draws them, and the colour hides the blood.
Danger and warningCourageSource: BullfightingAt the San Fermin festival in Pamplona each July, runners and crowds dress in white with a red neckerchief and red sash.
Festival and celebrationJoySource: Festival of San FermรญnThe red band of the flag is read as the blood shed in defending the country. Ethiopia was never colonised, and its green, yellow and red were taken up by many new African states.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Pan-African coloursThe red Phrygian cap, a soft cap with the tip pulled forward, became the sign of liberty in the Revolution. Marianne, the figure of the Republic, still wears it.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Phrygian capEach November people pin on a red paper poppy to remember those killed in war. The flower grew on the battlefields of Flanders in the First World War.
Protection and healingDanger and warningNostalgiaSource: Remembrance poppyRed is the colour of the Labour Party, whose symbol is a red rose, and blue the colour of the Conservatives. Election maps are drawn in the two.
Politics and protestSource: Political colourPost boxes, telephone kiosks and London buses share a bright red. Post boxes were painted green at first and changed to red from 1874 so that they were easier to find.
Protection and healingPrideSource: Pillar boxThe flag has a large red cross on white with four small crosses. It was a medieval banner brought back into use by the opposition and made official in 2004.
Politics and protestSacred and holyPrideSource: Flag of Georgia (country)At Akan funerals the close family wear red or red and black. Red shows the sharpest grief, and it is often worn when the death was sudden or the person young.
Mourning and deathGriefSource: Akan peopleThe flag is red, gold and green with a black star. The red is for the blood of those who died in the struggle for independence, won in 1957.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of GhanaEggs are dyed red on the Thursday before Easter to stand for the blood of Christ. After the midnight service families crack them against each other.
Sacred and holyFestival and celebrationJoySource: Easter eggOn 1 March children tie on a martis, a bracelet of twisted red and white thread. It is worn until the end of the month and is said to protect the skin from the spring sun.
Protection and healingSource: MartenitsaThe flag is red with a white bauhinia flower. The red matches the flag of China, and the design stands for the formula of one country, two systems.
Politics and protestSource: Flag of Hong KongThe red and white chequerboard, the sahovnica, is the heart of the national arms. It covers the shirts of national sports teams.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Coat of arms of CroatiaThe flag is blue over red. Tradition says Jean-Jacques Dessalines made it in 1803 by tearing the white band out of the French tricolour.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of HaitiThe flag is red, white and green: red for strength, white for faithfulness and green for hope. On 15 March people pin on a cockade in the three colours.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of HungaryOn Easter Monday boys sprinkle girls with water or perfume and are given painted eggs in return. The classic egg is plain red, piros tojas.
Festival and celebrationLove and desireSource: Easter eggThe flag is called Sang Saka Merah Putih, the Red and White. Red is commonly read as courage and white as purity. It was raised at the declaration of independence in 1945.
Politics and protestCouragePrideSource: Flag of IndonesiaSome people wear a thin red string around the left wrist against the evil eye. The strings are often said to have been wound around Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem. It is a folk custom.
Protection and healingSource: Red string (Kabbalah)Many Hindu brides marry in a red sari or lehenga. In much of north India a married woman wears sindoor, a red powder, along the parting of her hair.
Weddings and marriageLuck and prosperityJoyLoveSource: SindoorOn the last Tuesday night before Nowruz, people jump over small bonfires and chant a line that gives their yellow, meaning sickness, to the fire and takes its red, meaning health.
Festival and celebrationProtection and healingEnergySource: Chaharshanbe SuriOn Yalda, the longest night of the year, families sit up late eating pomegranates and watermelon. The red fruit stands for the glow of dawn and of life.
Festival and celebrationHopeSource: Yalda NightThe red cross in the flag stands for the fire of the island's volcanoes. It was added to an earlier blue and white flag.
Nature and renewalSource: Flag of IcelandIt is a custom to wear new red underwear on New Year's Eve for luck and love in the coming year. Shop windows fill with it in December.
Luck and prosperityLove and desireSource: New Year's EveRosso corsa, racing red, was the colour given to Italian cars in early international motor racing. Ferrari kept it, and it is now the colour people expect of the brand.
Festival and celebrationPrideEnergySource: Rosso corsaThe red and white checked headcloth, the shemagh, is a mark of Jordanian identity. It was the headdress of the desert patrol and is worn with a black cord.
Politics and protestPrideSource: KeffiyehThe torii gates of Shinto shrines are often painted vermilion, a bright orange-red. The colour is held to keep evil away, and the long tunnels of gates at Fushimi Inari are the best known.
Sacred and holyProtection and healingAweSource: ToriiMaasai herders wrap themselves in the shuka, a cloth that is most often red. Red stands for bravery and for blood, and is held to frighten off lions.
Protection and healingCourageSource: Maasai peopleThe flag is black, red and green with white edging and a Maasai shield. The red is for the blood shed in the fight for independence.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of KenyaThe flag is red with a yellow sun. Red is tied to the banner of the epic hero Manas, and the sun's forty rays to the forty tribes he united.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of KyrgyzstanRed in the swatch book
157 named values.
#7C0A02Alizarin#DB2D43Big dip oโruby#9C2542Antique ruby#841B2DBittersweet#FE6F5EBole#79443BBrick red#CB4154Burgundy#800020Burnished brown#A17A74Burnt umber#8A3324Cardinal#C41E3ACarmine#960018Carnelian#B31B1BCatawba#703642Cedar Chest#C95A49Chestnut#954535Chili red#E23D28Chinese red#AA381ECinnabar#E34234Crimson (UA)#9E1B32Copper penny#AD6F69Copper rose#996666Cordovan#893F45Crimson#DC143CDark red#8B0000Deep chestnut#B94E48English red#AB4B52English vermillion#CC474BFalu red#801818Fiery rose#FF5470Firebrick#B22222Fire engine red#CE2029French raspberry#C72C48Japanese carmine#9D2933Imperial red#ED2939Indian red#CD5C5CInternational orange (engineering)#BA160CLava#CF1020Liver#674C47Madder Lake#CC3336Maroon (web)#800000Maximum red#D92121Medium candy apple red#E2062CMedium carmine#AF4035Middle red purple#A55353Neon fuchsia#FE4164Orange-red (Crayola)#FF5349Orange soda#FA5B3DOU Crimson red#841617Permanent Geranium Lake#E12C2CPersian red#CC3333Popstar#BE4F62Portland Orange#FF5A36Persian plum#701C1CPrune#701C1CRed (Munsell)#F2003CRadical Red#FF355ERed#FF0000Red (Crayola)#EE204DRedwood#A45A52Red (Pantone)#ED2939Red (RYB)#FE2712Red-orange#FF5349Red ocher (Red ochre)#913831Red Salsa#FD3A4ARed-violet (Color wheel)#922B3ERose ebony#674846Rose madder#E32636Rose taupe#905D5DRose vale#AB4E52Rosso corsa#D40000Rosy brown#BC8F8FRuby red#9B111ERufous#A81C07Rusty red#DA2C43Sizzling Red#FF3855Spanish red#E60026Tea rose#F4C2C2Strawberry#FA5053Sweet Brown#A83731Tart Orange#FB4D46Terra cotta#E2725BTuscan red#7C4848Tuscany#C09999University of Pennsylvania red#A50021UP maroon#7B1113Upsdell red#AE2029Venetian red#C80815Vermilion#D9381EVivid burgundy#9F1D35Wine#722F37Wine Red#B11226International orange (Golden Gate Bridge)#C0362CZarqa#FF4500Nakabeniไธญ็ด
#C93756Sakuranezumiๆก้ผ #AC8181Chลshun-iro้ทๆฅ่ฒ#B95754Enji-iro่่่ฒ#9D2933Kokiakeๆทฑ็ท#7B3B3AJinzamomi็ไธ็ด
#F7665AMizugakiๆฐดใใ#B56C60Umenezumiๆข
้ผ #97645ASu'ลkล่่ณ้ฆ#A24F46Akabeni่ตค็ด
#C3272BShinshu็ๆฑ#8F1D21Azuki-iroๅฐ่ฑ่ฒ#672422Ginshu้ๆฑ#BC2D29Ebichaๆตท่่ถ#5E2824Kiriumeๆ ๆข
#8B352DAkebono-iroๆ่ฒ#FA7B62Sango-iro็็่ฒ#F8674FShลjลhi็ฉใ
็ท#DC3023Shikancha่็ฟซ่ถ#AB4C3DBenikaba็ด
ๆจบ#9D2B22Benitobi็ด
้ณถ#913228Benihibata็ด
ๆช็ฎ#6F3028Benihi็ด
็ท#F35336Terigaki็
งๆฟ#D34E36Ake็ท#CF3A24Edochaๆฑๆธ่ถ#A13D2D#FF0000
Red
A primary colour seen in light, pigment, and tradition worldwideBasic colour ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States +5
Red
Cinnabar
A scarlet to brick-red mineral and the main source of mercury and vermilion pigmentColour named from nature ยท ๐ช๐ธ Spain +5
Red
Realgar
An orange-red arsenic sulfide mineral once used as a pigment and poisonPigment ยท ๐จ๐ณ China +5
#E25822
Scarlet
A bright red with a touch of orange, long tied to power, sacrifice and sinNamed shade ยท ๐น๐ท Turkey +4

Red
Carmine
A deep red pigment made from cochineal insects, once prized across continentsPigment ยท ๐ซ๐ท France +2

#E34234
Vermilion
A brilliant orange-red pigment, once made from toxic mercury orePigment ยท ๐น๐ท Turkey +5

Red
Rubia
A group of plants whose roots once dyed cloth and paint a lasting redColour named from nature ยท ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt +5
#DC143C
Crimson
A deep red with a hint of purple, once made from insectsNamed shade ยท ๐ณ๐ต Nepal
#E32636
Alizarin
A deep red dye first made from madder roots, later produced from coal tarDye ยท ๐น๐ท Turkey +1
#800000
Maroon
A deep brownish red named for the French word for chestnutNamed shade ยท ๐ฆ๐บ Australia +4
Red
Sindoorเคธเคฟเคจเฅเคฆเฅเคฐ
A red or orange-red powder marking marriage for Hindu women in South AsiaTraditional colour ยท ๐ฎ๐ณ India +4
#801818
Falu redfalu rรถdfรคrg
A deep red paint pigment from the Falun copper mine, used on wooden houses in SwedenPigment ยท ๐ธ๐ช Sweden +2
#800020
Burgundy
A purplish dark red named after the wine region in FranceNamed shade ยท ๐ซ๐ท France
Red
Hennaุญููููุงุก
A reddish dye from the henna plant, used for body art and hair since ancient timesColour named from nature ยท ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt +5
#B7410E
Rust
A deep reddish-orange named after the colour of oxidised ironNamed shade
#C41E3A
Cardinal
A strong, deep red linked to church robes and team coloursNamed shade

Red
Kermes
A deep red dye made from Mediterranean scale insects, once prized for scarlet clothDye ยท ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt +5
Red
Kumkum
A red powder made from turmeric and lime, used for forehead marks in IndiaDye ยท ๐ฎ๐ณ India
Red
Brazilin
A red dye from brazilwood and sappanwood, used in textiles and paints since the Middle AgesDye ยท ๐ง๐ท Brazil +4
Red
Lacเคฒเคพเคเฅเคทเคพ
A red resin secreted by insects and used as dye, varnish and shellacColour named from nature ยท ๐ฎ๐ณ India +5
#660000
Blood red
A deep, dark red inspired by the colour of human bloodNamed shade

#FF3800
Coquelicot
A vivid reddish-orange named after the wild corn poppy flowerNamed shade

#4A0000
Oxblood
A deep, brownish red seen in ceramics, shoes and fashionNamed shade
#E32636
Rose madder
A traditional red pigment made from the roots of the madder plantPigment ยท ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt +5
Red
Abir
A coloured powder used in Hindu rituals and the Holi festivalTraditional colour ยท ๐ฎ๐ณ India

Red
Sang de boeuf glaze้็ช็บข
A deep red porcelain glaze first made in early 18th-century ChinaNamed shade ยท ๐จ๐ณ China +1
#D40000
Rosso corsa
The deep red that marks Italian racing cars and teamsNational or team colour ยท ๐ฎ๐น Italy
#A91101
Turkey red
A lasting bright red dye for cotton, made from madder root by a complex processNamed shade ยท ๐น๐ท Turkey +4

#CE2029
Fire engine red
A bright red shade long used on fire engines and emergency vehiclesNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States +1
#FA5053
Strawberry
A bright red colour inspired by the ripe strawberry fruitNamed shade ยท ๐ซ๐ท France +4
#8C1515
Stanford Cardinal Red
A deep red colour used by Stanford University in its identity and sportsNamed shade ยท ๐บ๐ธ United States
#800000
Eye color
The natural colour of the iris, ranging from brown and blue to green and hazelColour named from nature
Red
Iron(III) oxide
A deep red iron compound found in hematite and used as pigment and polishPigment
Red
Red hair
A rare human hair colour ranging from deep burgundy to strawberry blondNamed shade ยท ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland +3

Red
Lead(II,IV) oxide
A strong red-orange pigment once widely used to protect iron and in illuminated manuscriptsPigment ยท ๐ฆ๐บ Australia
Red
Dragon's blood
A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature ยท ๐ฎ๐ณ India +3
#722F37
Wine
A deep, dark red-brown named for the colour of red wineNamed shade
#960018
Carmine
A deep red shade, close to pure red and seen in dried blood and rubiesNamed shade ยท ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia +1

#E52B50
Amaranth
A reddish-rose colour named after the flower of the amaranth plantNamed shade

Red
Blood rain
Rain that appears red, often caused by dust or microalgae in the waterColour named from nature ยท ๐ฎ๐น Italy +5
Red
Azo dye
A large group of synthetic dyes with vivid reds, oranges, and yellowsDye
Red
Betalain
Red and yellow plant pigments found in beets, bougainvillea, and cactiPigment
Red
Polish cochinealczerwiec polski
A crimson dye once vital to Poland, made from a native scale insectDye ยท ๐ต๐ฑ Poland +5
#E30B5D
Raspberry
A bright, vivid red named after the fruitNamed shade
#CB410B
Sinopia
A reddish-brown earth pigment once prized for fresco underdrawingsPigment ยท ๐ฎ๐น Italy
Red
Minium
A rare scarlet to brownish red mineral form of lead oxideColour named from nature
Red
Cinquasia red
A deep red pigment from the quinacridone family, valued for its durabilityPigment
#C80815
Venetian red
A warm, earthy red pigment once prized by Renaissance paintersPigment
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Blood red: Wesalius, CC BY 4.0, source
- Carmine: grassrootsgroundswell, CC BY 2.0, source
- Fire engine red: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Oxblood: Anonymous (Chinese artist) Unknown author, CC0, source
- Raspberry: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rosso corsa: Matthew Lamb, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Sinopia: Joanbanjo, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Strawberry: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Trypan blue: Smokefoot, Public domain, source
- Wine: Tomas er, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Betalain: Claus Ableiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lac: Jeffrey W. Lotz, CC BY 3.0, source
- Rubia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Amaranth: Kurt Stรผber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blood rain: Hans Glaser (Druck), Public domain, source
- Realgar: Gรฉry PARENT, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lead(II,IV) oxide: BXXXD at German Wikipedia ( Original text: BXXXD ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carmine: Stephhzz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dragon's blood: Andy Dingley, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Iron(III) oxide: BXXXD, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kermes: MyName ( Gryffindor ) stitched by Marku1988 This panoramic image was c, Public domain, source
- Polish cochineal: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Henna: Izzah Zainab, CC BY 2.0, source
- Eye color: LeuschteLampe, Public domain, source
- Stanford Cardinal Red: King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Red hair: Sunny Ripert, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Abir: Kamalakanta777, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kumkum: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sang de boeuf glaze: WAN233, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cinnabar: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sindoor: Masum-al-hasan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Maroon: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Scarlet: Daderot, Public domain, source
- Vermilion: ุนูุซู ุงู, CC0, source
- Red: Sander van der Wel, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Alizarin: M. Girard - University of Kansas, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Coquelicot: Robert Vonnoh, Public domain, source
- Crimson: F ASTILY, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Falu red: Moralist, Public domain, source
- Cardinal: Philippe de Champaigne and workshop, Public domain, source
- Burgundy: allen watkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Rust: AndrewHenkelman, CC BY-SA 4.0, source