Tomatoes, strawberries, cherries! Balloons, lipstick, the ubiquitous heart. They all tickle the eye with the same vibrance, because they are all red! Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, some say – yet the color red seems to transcend these boundaries. Seen in the cave paintings in Lascaux (from possibly as many as 17,000 years ago) and in the dyes used for traditional clothing from México to Ukraina to China, red has been a magnet to the human eye for millennia. Why?

Red is a warm, dazzling color whose hues and shades range from brown to pink to purple to orange. It vibrates and entices with warmth. It energizes the mind and excites the body. From love and fertility to power and luxury, there is just something about red. In some cultures, red symbolizes good luck, and in others, incites passion and desire, or joy and beauty. In Pan-Africanism, red represents the blood that unites all African people, as well as the common struggles faced together. In Maasai culture, red is the color of power – the mark of a warrior. Red's widespread association with protection might explain why red is the color of love. Maybe red signifies the kind of love that is powerful and safe. Or, is red the color of love because the human heart itself is red?

Greentree Home Candle celebrates red across our palette – most of all in bittersweet, a festive holiday red. And then again in sangria, a deep, dark, earthy red that will satisfy red-lovers, purple-lovers, and wine-lovers. We see red again in our coral, a rambunctious red-orange that is both light in tone and bright in boldness. And if you find pink to be more so the color of love, you may lean more towards the soft, warm colors in our palette such as blush and wild plum. Even our wild plum has the faintest hint of red uplifting the vivacious pink and purple tones.

What do you think? What color most symbolizes love for you?

BUSY BEE TIP:
While candles may play a meaningful role in our holidays and formal celebrations (we see you, Valentine's Day!) – they are truly there for us everyday. Lighting a candle creates, in a moment, a soft and welcoming space for expressing ourselves. Choose a color candle that means something to you, whether love, beauty, abundance, growth, and say an affirmation as you light this special candle. Your affirmation could be as simple as: "I am here." "I love you."