“Hey, Red!”
And the man delivering this line always thinks he has said something very clever, perhaps something I have never heard before. “Are you a natural redhead?” With a pointed look at my crotch. “Does the carpet match the drapes?”
Which is the line most guaranteed to deny the speaker of the privilege of EVER getting anywhere near the carpet.
When I was a kid, I often heard this crude chant from other children: “Red on the head like the dick on a dog!”
Charming, huh.
And thus I knew from an early age that there was something unique about the color of my hair. Strangers would often ask me, “Where did you get your red hair?” Even at the age of four I remember thinking, “Duh! Same place you got your hair! It just grew there.”
Today I share with you some interesting folklore about redheads.
“Redheads are deemed to be the emotional slaves of our colouring as no other group," writes redhead Nicola Tyrer in the Daily Telegraph; “short temper and sexual fieriness are attributed to them.”
Percentages of redheads in different countries range from single digits to a fraction of 1 percent -- a recent estimate for France is 0.03 percent of people. (A 1977 estimate for North America is 4 per cent.) Redheads generally are more numerous in northern latitudes, but also turn up among Hungarians, Egyptians, Israelis and certain Nigerian tribes.
"In Denmark it is an honour to have a redheaded child. In Corsica, if you pass one in the street you spit and turn around. In Poland, if you pass three redheads you'll win the state lottery," claims Sylvia Stevez, the Parisian founder of Association Francaise des Rousses.
There are two kinds of redhead, says Mary Spillane, managing director of British image consultants Colour Me Beautiful. There's "the autumn type with hazel eyes," and the Celtic type with translucent skin, light eyes and carrot top -- leprechaun redness that people have trouble with."
Redheads have always been thought untrustworthy. As a 17th-century Frenchman observed, "Judas, it is said, was red-haired."
Superstitions: red hair is unlucky, yet it's lucky to rub your hand on a redhead's head; bees sting redheads more readily. The Egyptians regarded the colour as so unlucky that they had a ceremony in which they burned red-headed maidens alive to wipe out the tint, says author Claudie De Lys.
In ancient Ireland if a traveler were to happen upon a woman with red hair he must turn around and start his journey all over again.
Redheads bring bad luck to a ship, don't sail with one on board.
Redheads seem to be relatively recent in evolutionary terms, only being with us for about 20,000 years, but in that short time a a whole body of superstition has built up around them. Natural redheads are a rare breed, perhaps 5% of the global population, and historically have always been treated with prejudice and suspicion, or with amazement and awe. Fiery tresses are widely supposed to be a 'Celtic gene' as all redheads are MC1R variants that derive from European populations, and the prevalence of these alleles is highest in Celtic countries .But none of this tells us anything of the superstitions, or why we believe that redheads are fiery and hot-tempered. One answer lies in Ireland. Macha, the red war-goddess makes a vengeful appearance in the second story of Ulster, in a terrible story of humilation. This Macha placed the curse upon the men of Ulaid, for their mistreatment of her during her pregnancy. The curse was that during Ulster's hours of greatest need, the men of Ulster would suffer violent pangs like those of a woman giving birth. But Macha Mong Ruad, who also railled against the men of Ireland, was a great Queen in ancient times..... Today, the silent grasses cover the mound of Emania Macha, a little north-west of Armagh, but this ancient hill fortress played a vital and vibrant role in the fortunes and history of Ulster and indeed in the making of Ireland herself. Emain Macha was Conchobar's capital - the seat of power in Ulaid (Ulster). The dun was founded by Queen Macha the Red-Haired, the first reliably documented ruler in Irish History. Her father, Aod Ruad (Red Hugh) was one of a triumvirate with his brothers Dithorba and Cimbaoth. They had an arrangement that each would reign for seven years in turn. Stories tell of three times seven guarantees to ensure that each king handed over sovereignty at the end of his seven years - guarentees to ensure the righteousness of each king's reign so that there would be an abundance of fruit every year, that every colour of dye would be fast and that no women would die in childbirth. These guarantees were - seven druids, to scorch them with spells - seven poets, to shame them with satires - and seven champions, to wound and burn them if they didn't fulfil their obligations. Each took three turns as king, sixty-three years in all. Áed Ruad drowned before he finished his term of office and although Macha should have ruled her father's incompleted term, her two uncles opposed her. Macha led an army to war, where she killed Dithorba in battle. (Dithorba's five sons had fled to Connacht, where they plotted to overthrown Macha but she captured them in a fascinating manner.) Then with equal skill and mastery she turned her attention towards her uncle Cimbaoth, first defeating and then compelling him to formally marry her. Macha founded the city of Emain Macha, and legend tells that she marked the boundary of her hill-fortress with her brooch and forced Dithorba's sons into building the dun as slaves. Cimbaeth became the high king of Ireland, and ruled in Tara for 27 years with Macha until his death, leaving Macha in sole power. Emania Macha, her legacy, later became renowned as the fortress of the Red Branch. Was it this Macha, understandably angered with her male relatives, who inspired the myth of the fiery- tempered redhead ?
Red is the color of heat, of wine, of fever, of blood. Red is the signal of danger. It is both a welcome and a warning, and even the most civilized man feels a curiously atavistic quickening of the senses at the sight of a red-haired woman. Never mind that she may be a notorious mouse. He knows that, deep inside, she is a quivering mass of passion and fireworks -- a thrower of paperweights when displeased.
"There are more redheaded girls around than there used to be, say, six months ago. One sees them glowing like torches, raking their rosy manes with permissive fingers, basking, with a healthily narcissistic delight, in the way people look at them. Most to the point, in the way men look at them." ... Vogue, April 15, 1969
"Even plain redheads get looked at quite a lot. A really good-looking one comes through every door like a thunderclap." ... Vogue, op. cit.
"The eyes are often a smoky brown. Or the color of the ocean, from slate to marble, depending on the light and mood. The blue-eyed white-skinned redheads are like walking flags. The green-eyed redheads shake you to your soul; you are helpless in their grip. No wonder they have so often been seen as gods or demons. Or aliens, mutants, wizards or threats." ... Red Alert! By Joel Garreau, The Washington Post Company
"Of course, part of the 'problem' with redheads is that there aren't enough of them. They make up just two percent of the population. So they're pretty extraordinary. Redheads are too numerous to be ignored, too rare to be accepted." ...Grant McCracken, from his book Big Hair: A Journey Into the Transformation of Self
"While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats." -- Mark Twain
"Red-heads, in general, need more general anesthesia than the average patient in order to reach a satisfactory level of relief from the pain associated with surgery,” doctors say. I’ve also been told that redheads bleed more.
"That... drew me particularly to the flamboyant qualities of redheads. Their hair and the exotic flourish of their skin in sunlight were even redder and more visible in that blue surround. They also shared with me their sense of personal victory at having overcome this early celebrity, how... they had grown into their specialness and, by surviving, had been ennobled by it. You could say that they had been baptized by their fire and that their shared experience had formed a 'blood knot' among them." ...Joel Meyerowitz, author and photographer of Redheads. This book has a pretty good gallery of portraits, except, of course, for the fact that he has never taken my photo to include in it. Tsk.
So, parents, warn your non-red children.... tell your sons that tease little redheaded girls how badly they are going to want to date those same girls in about ten years, and how much fun the girls are going to have laughing in dude's face. And let those blonde and brunette little girls in on how difficult it will be when their boss turns out to be... you guessed it... a redhead with many, many axes to grind.
And the man delivering this line always thinks he has said something very clever, perhaps something I have never heard before. “Are you a natural redhead?” With a pointed look at my crotch. “Does the carpet match the drapes?”
Which is the line most guaranteed to deny the speaker of the privilege of EVER getting anywhere near the carpet.
When I was a kid, I often heard this crude chant from other children: “Red on the head like the dick on a dog!”
Charming, huh.
And thus I knew from an early age that there was something unique about the color of my hair. Strangers would often ask me, “Where did you get your red hair?” Even at the age of four I remember thinking, “Duh! Same place you got your hair! It just grew there.”
Today I share with you some interesting folklore about redheads.
“Redheads are deemed to be the emotional slaves of our colouring as no other group," writes redhead Nicola Tyrer in the Daily Telegraph; “short temper and sexual fieriness are attributed to them.”
Percentages of redheads in different countries range from single digits to a fraction of 1 percent -- a recent estimate for France is 0.03 percent of people. (A 1977 estimate for North America is 4 per cent.) Redheads generally are more numerous in northern latitudes, but also turn up among Hungarians, Egyptians, Israelis and certain Nigerian tribes.
"In Denmark it is an honour to have a redheaded child. In Corsica, if you pass one in the street you spit and turn around. In Poland, if you pass three redheads you'll win the state lottery," claims Sylvia Stevez, the Parisian founder of Association Francaise des Rousses.
There are two kinds of redhead, says Mary Spillane, managing director of British image consultants Colour Me Beautiful. There's "the autumn type with hazel eyes," and the Celtic type with translucent skin, light eyes and carrot top -- leprechaun redness that people have trouble with."
Redheads have always been thought untrustworthy. As a 17th-century Frenchman observed, "Judas, it is said, was red-haired."
Superstitions: red hair is unlucky, yet it's lucky to rub your hand on a redhead's head; bees sting redheads more readily. The Egyptians regarded the colour as so unlucky that they had a ceremony in which they burned red-headed maidens alive to wipe out the tint, says author Claudie De Lys.
In ancient Ireland if a traveler were to happen upon a woman with red hair he must turn around and start his journey all over again.
Redheads bring bad luck to a ship, don't sail with one on board.
Redheads seem to be relatively recent in evolutionary terms, only being with us for about 20,000 years, but in that short time a a whole body of superstition has built up around them. Natural redheads are a rare breed, perhaps 5% of the global population, and historically have always been treated with prejudice and suspicion, or with amazement and awe. Fiery tresses are widely supposed to be a 'Celtic gene' as all redheads are MC1R variants that derive from European populations, and the prevalence of these alleles is highest in Celtic countries .But none of this tells us anything of the superstitions, or why we believe that redheads are fiery and hot-tempered. One answer lies in Ireland. Macha, the red war-goddess makes a vengeful appearance in the second story of Ulster, in a terrible story of humilation. This Macha placed the curse upon the men of Ulaid, for their mistreatment of her during her pregnancy. The curse was that during Ulster's hours of greatest need, the men of Ulster would suffer violent pangs like those of a woman giving birth. But Macha Mong Ruad, who also railled against the men of Ireland, was a great Queen in ancient times..... Today, the silent grasses cover the mound of Emania Macha, a little north-west of Armagh, but this ancient hill fortress played a vital and vibrant role in the fortunes and history of Ulster and indeed in the making of Ireland herself. Emain Macha was Conchobar's capital - the seat of power in Ulaid (Ulster). The dun was founded by Queen Macha the Red-Haired, the first reliably documented ruler in Irish History. Her father, Aod Ruad (Red Hugh) was one of a triumvirate with his brothers Dithorba and Cimbaoth. They had an arrangement that each would reign for seven years in turn. Stories tell of three times seven guarantees to ensure that each king handed over sovereignty at the end of his seven years - guarentees to ensure the righteousness of each king's reign so that there would be an abundance of fruit every year, that every colour of dye would be fast and that no women would die in childbirth. These guarantees were - seven druids, to scorch them with spells - seven poets, to shame them with satires - and seven champions, to wound and burn them if they didn't fulfil their obligations. Each took three turns as king, sixty-three years in all. Áed Ruad drowned before he finished his term of office and although Macha should have ruled her father's incompleted term, her two uncles opposed her. Macha led an army to war, where she killed Dithorba in battle. (Dithorba's five sons had fled to Connacht, where they plotted to overthrown Macha but she captured them in a fascinating manner.) Then with equal skill and mastery she turned her attention towards her uncle Cimbaoth, first defeating and then compelling him to formally marry her. Macha founded the city of Emain Macha, and legend tells that she marked the boundary of her hill-fortress with her brooch and forced Dithorba's sons into building the dun as slaves. Cimbaeth became the high king of Ireland, and ruled in Tara for 27 years with Macha until his death, leaving Macha in sole power. Emania Macha, her legacy, later became renowned as the fortress of the Red Branch. Was it this Macha, understandably angered with her male relatives, who inspired the myth of the fiery- tempered redhead ?
Red is the color of heat, of wine, of fever, of blood. Red is the signal of danger. It is both a welcome and a warning, and even the most civilized man feels a curiously atavistic quickening of the senses at the sight of a red-haired woman. Never mind that she may be a notorious mouse. He knows that, deep inside, she is a quivering mass of passion and fireworks -- a thrower of paperweights when displeased.
"There are more redheaded girls around than there used to be, say, six months ago. One sees them glowing like torches, raking their rosy manes with permissive fingers, basking, with a healthily narcissistic delight, in the way people look at them. Most to the point, in the way men look at them." ... Vogue, April 15, 1969
"Even plain redheads get looked at quite a lot. A really good-looking one comes through every door like a thunderclap." ... Vogue, op. cit.
"The eyes are often a smoky brown. Or the color of the ocean, from slate to marble, depending on the light and mood. The blue-eyed white-skinned redheads are like walking flags. The green-eyed redheads shake you to your soul; you are helpless in their grip. No wonder they have so often been seen as gods or demons. Or aliens, mutants, wizards or threats." ... Red Alert! By Joel Garreau, The Washington Post Company
"Of course, part of the 'problem' with redheads is that there aren't enough of them. They make up just two percent of the population. So they're pretty extraordinary. Redheads are too numerous to be ignored, too rare to be accepted." ...Grant McCracken, from his book Big Hair: A Journey Into the Transformation of Self
"While the rest of the species is descended from apes, redheads are descended from cats." -- Mark Twain
"Red-heads, in general, need more general anesthesia than the average patient in order to reach a satisfactory level of relief from the pain associated with surgery,” doctors say. I’ve also been told that redheads bleed more.
"That... drew me particularly to the flamboyant qualities of redheads. Their hair and the exotic flourish of their skin in sunlight were even redder and more visible in that blue surround. They also shared with me their sense of personal victory at having overcome this early celebrity, how... they had grown into their specialness and, by surviving, had been ennobled by it. You could say that they had been baptized by their fire and that their shared experience had formed a 'blood knot' among them." ...Joel Meyerowitz, author and photographer of Redheads. This book has a pretty good gallery of portraits, except, of course, for the fact that he has never taken my photo to include in it. Tsk.
So, parents, warn your non-red children.... tell your sons that tease little redheaded girls how badly they are going to want to date those same girls in about ten years, and how much fun the girls are going to have laughing in dude's face. And let those blonde and brunette little girls in on how difficult it will be when their boss turns out to be... you guessed it... a redhead with many, many axes to grind.
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There is no way to contact you via this blogspot so I'll leave a comment here before I take legal action.
Your content from "In ancient Ireland if a traveler were to happen upon a woman with red hair he must turn around and start his journey all over again." to "Was it this Macha, understandably angered with her male relatives, who inspired the myth of the fiery- tempered redhead ?" is my original content.
My content has a proven earlier creation date. Please remove this ASAP
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