Halloween Colors and What They Mean
If Halloween is your favorite holiday, then you’re probably counting the days down to Oct. 31. As you put the finishing touches on this year’s costume and hang up the last of the Halloween decorations , you may be looking around and wondering why so many of them are orange and black.
It’s a good question given that much like red and green are traditional Christmas colors , black and orange are often associated with Halloween. But what is the meaning of these Halloween colors and how did they come to represent the spooky holiday ?
“Holiday colors come from a mix of nature, religion, and tradition,” Sara Palmer and Lucinda Law, founders of Color Class , tell TODAY.com via email.
“Over time, they became cultural codes, like red and green, that evoke Christmas, pastels mean Easter. And for decades, orange and black mean Halloween.”
According to Palmer and Law, holiday colors, in general, likely began as symbols, representing things like holly berries, spring blossoms and autumn harvest fires . Those themes were then reinforced by religion and folklore, before eventually becoming cemented in pop culture as “official” holiday looks.
“Colors set the mood instantly. Seeing orange and black in October , or red and pink in February, flips a switch in our brains. We feel festive before we even think about it,” say Palmer and Law.
“This is because these holiday color pairings are like seasonal cues that trigger memories, tastes, even smells. They prime us emotionally to join the celebration .”
To better understand the origin and history of the season’s colors (which also have come to include purple and green), TODAY.com spoke to Palmer, Law and other experts who help break down the reasons why they’re the official hues of Halloween .
Halloween Colors and Their Meaning Orange and Black
Getty Images / iStockphoto While it might seem that black and orange have been around forever as the “official” colors of Halloween, that’s not the case, according to Lisa Morton , author of “Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween.”
“In the first few years of the 20th century, there were party guides being published that called yellow and brown Halloween’s colors, thanks to the holiday’s association with the fall harvest,” Morton tells TODAY.com, adding that yellow was for corn or maize and brown was for hay and dried husks.
However, through the years orange has come to dominate the holiday color scheme give its relationship to Halloween’s unofficial mascot: the pumpkin.
According to Morton, carving jack-o’-lanterns became integrated into U.S. culture around 1910, when pumpkins quickly became the “undisputed king of Halloween” due of their prominence on postcards and in advertising.
As for black? Morton believes it’s evolved from some of the common Halloween associations many people already have, including bats and black cats.
Purple and Green
anyaivanova / Getty Images / iStockphoto Purple and green have crept into the Halloween palette over later decades. Morton believes the introduction of green may have been inspired by the emerald complexions of witches in film — notably, Margaret Hamilton’s turn as the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 classic film “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Before that, witches were typically shown with just human skin tones and dressed in red,” explains Morton.
Color expert Kate Smith wrote about the significance of purple on her website : “Purple has long been associated with wealth and royalty, as purple dye was precious and expensive. If green is the color of spring, then purple conjures up autumn, fading light, and shorter days.”
Smith also noted that the rich color is “associated with an escape from reality and magical images.”
According to Amber Dunford, design psychology expert, purple evokes mystery and spirituality, which complements our modern interpretation of Halloween. Green is at the opposite end of the color wheel, making it a nice contrast to purple.
“These cooler color additions balance out the warmth of the orange, harmonizing the two color temperatures nicely,” Dunford tells TODAY.com.
The Psychology Behind Orange, Black, Green and Purple
SolStock / Getty Images People often react to color before they even respond to an object’s shape, texture or scale. “This tendency makes color a very powerful tool in marketing and one that becomes difficult to look past once it becomes ingrained in our psyche,” Dunford says.
“Color is the first thing we assess when viewing an object, making it one of the most powerful and memorable design aspects from a psychological perspective,” she adds.
According to Palmer and Law, colors can serve as “emotional shortcuts.”
“Warm colors energize us, cool colors calm us and vivid colors create energy. And just as a particular fragrance evokes memories, certain colors transport us to other places and other emotions,” Palmer and Law tell TODAY.com.
“Our brains are wired to respond to color before words. That’s why red feels urgent, blue feels peaceful, and yellow feels cheerful. We don’t just see color, we feel it,” say Palmer and Law.
So, what feelings do they think the various Halloween colors evoke?
Palmer and Law explain that the color black inspires feelings of mystery, the unknown, sophistication symbolizing night, endings and protection. Orange inspires energy, excitement, warmth symbolizing firelight, autumn leaves and harvest.
They say that green typically represents life and growth, but when associated with Halloween, it’s a bit more eerie, representing nature and poison.
Finally, the color purple tends to evoke feelings of magic, creativity and spirituality, symbolizing all things mystical and supernatural.
“Together they create the playful-mystical Halloween mood that we all love,” say Palmer and Law.
Whatever emotions these Halloween colors evoke in you, one thing is certain — when you see these popular hues, you know that the season is officially underway.
