Saffron (color)

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Saffron is a shade of golden yellow resembling color of the tip of the saffron crocus thread, from which the spice saffron is derived.

[edit] Shades of Saffron

[edit] Saffron

Saffron
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#F4C430
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(244, 196, 48)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(45°, 80%, 96%)
Source		[Unsourced]
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

The color saffron is displayed at right.

Close-up of a single saffron crocus thread (the dried stigma). Actual length is about 20 millimeters (0.8 in).

[edit] Deep saffron

Deep saffron
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#FF9933
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(255, 153, 51)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(34°, 80%, 87%)
Source		[Unsourced]
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Deep saffron color of The Gates installation in New York's Central Park

Deep saffron (गेरुआ या भगवा) is the color of the upper band of the Indian National Flag (Bharatiya Rashtriya Dhwaj). It represents sacrifice and salvation.

[edit] Saffron in culture

Art

• The Gates is a site-specific art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 metal "gates" along 23 miles (37 km) of pathways in Central Park in New York City. From each gate hung a flag-shaped piece of deep saffron-colored nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12, 2005 through February 27, 2005.

Ethnography

• Saffron-colored cloth is thought by some to have a history of use among Celtic peoples. A "saffron" kilt is worn by the pipers of certain Irish regiments in the British Army and in the defence forces of the Republic of Ireland. This garment is also worn by some Irish and Irish-American men as an item of national costume. Its color varies from a true saffron orange to a range of dull mustard and yellowish-brown hues. The Antrim GAA teams are nicknamed "The Saffrons" because of the saffron-colored kilt which they play in. The surname "Cronin," which originated in County Cork, is derived from the Old Irish word crón, meaning saffron-colored.

Literature

• The color saffron is associated with the goddess of dawn (Eos in Greek mythology and Aurora in Roman mythology) in classical literature:

Homer's Iliad :

Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of Okeanos, to bring light to mortals and immortals, Thetis reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her. (19.1)

Virgil's Aeneid :

Cymon and Iphigeneia c. 1884 by Frederic Leighton - saffron suffuses the canvas at sunrise

Aurora now had left her saffron bed,

And beams of early light the heav'ns o'erspread,

When, from a tow'r, the queen, with wakeful eyes,

Saw day point upward from the rosy skies.

Music

• The lyrics of Donovan's 1966 song, Mellow Yellow repeat the line, "I'm just mad about Saffron."

Politics

• Because Theravada Buddhist monks were at the forefront of the 2007 Burmese anti-government protests, the uprising has been referred to as the Saffron Revolution by some in the international media[[1]]
• In India, the terms Saffronization and Saffron Brigade are used to refer to the Hindu nationalists.

Religion

• In Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism), the color deep saffron is associated with sacrifice and salvation. Saffron or "Bhagwa" is often worn by "Sanyasis" who have left their home in search of the ultimate.
• Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes (although occasionally maroon--the color normally worn by Vajrayana Buddhist monks--is worn). (The shade of saffron typically worn by Theravada Buddhist monks is the lighter shade of saffron shown above.)
• Sikhs use saffron as the background color of the Nishan Sahib, the flag of the Sikh religion, upon which is displayed the khanda in blue [2].

Vexillology

• The color at the top of the Indian National Flag is a color officially called deep saffron that is an orangeish shade of saffron.

In Rajasthani this color is called kaiseria. The word derives its name from kesar, a spice crop from Kashmir. The color deep saffron represents the Hindus of India, the color India green represents the Muslims of India, and the white represents other religions. According to another theory Deep Saffron represents sacrifice and renunciation of materialism, Green represents prosperity, fertility and abundance and White represents truth and peace. The chakra in the middle of the flag represent continuous progress and evolution.

[edit] See also

• History of saffron
• List of colors
• Saffron Type System, an anti-aliased text-rendering engine

[edit] References

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