What does white and black symbolize?

White is pure light and black is the absence of light. In many cultures, these two non-colours are associated with life and death rituals. For essential questions about identity, the opposites black and white are often chosen.

How is color interpreted in different cultures?

Colors carry deep meanings with them in every culture. Western, Far Eastern, Middle Eastern, Indian, and African cultures have stark differences in the symbolism of colors within their cultures. For instance, in some cultures, white represents innocence, but in others, it can represent death.

What does white mean in different cultures?

In Western cultures, white symbolizes purity, elegance, peace, and cleanliness; brides traditionally wear white dresses at their weddings. But in China, Korea, and some other Asian countries, white represents death, mourning, and bad luck, and is traditionally worn at funerals.

What color represents death in some cultures?

Black
Black. Western cultures (North America and Europe) Black is the color of finality, death, formality and mourning in North American and European cultures. It is also considered powerful and strong and can imply control or force.

What does black mean in African culture?

spiritual energy
Every single colour that is used has its own symbolic meaning, as detailed below. Black: spiritual energy and maturity, as well as funeral rites and mourning. Blue: love, harmony, togetherness and peace.

What does the color white mean in different cultures?

Western cultures (North America and Europe) White is the color of purity and peace. It is often associated with weddings and is the color most often worn by brides. White is also clean and sterile and used to represent hospitals and even holiness.

What is the cultural significance of the color black?

Western cultures (North America and Europe) Black is the color of finality, death, formality and mourning in North American and European cultures. It is also considered powerful and strong and can imply control or force.

What does the contrast of white and black mean?

The contrast of white and black (light and darkness, day and night) has a long tradition of metaphorical usage, traceable to the Ancient Near East, and explicitly in the Pythagorean Table of Opposites. In Western culture as well as in Confucianism, the contrast symbolizes the moral dichotomy of good and evil.

What are some positive associations with black?

Positive Associations. For some, black evokes positive associations with this color, including attractiveness and elegance. 1  The color oozes sophistication. That’s why so many people choose to don black clothing when attending a fancy event.