National customs

The meaning of white in different cultures

White-color-meaning---tourist-wedding---photo-by-Aleksandar-Janjanin
Photo credits: Aleksandar Janjanin

When we imagine a wedding dress, most of us think of a white gown. Even though trends change and some brides adapt the color of the wedding dress to match their own style and preferences, many brides from Western countries still choose to wear white dress at the wedding.

In most Western countries, white is associated with purity and innocence, which is why many traditions involve wearing a white wedding dress, and why many brides still choose precisely this color to wear on their wedding day. This tradition is spread across Europe, North America and South America, and wedding customs from these parts of the world usually involve the white dress for the bride to wear.

White is also internationally recognized as the color of peace, with white dove as its symbol, and white flag as a symbol of surrender or truce.

Even though Western societies see white as a color which represents purity, innocence and peace, in some other cultures white represents something completely different. In Eastern and Asian cultures, white is a symbol of death and mourning, and people in China, Korea and some other Asian countries usually wear white on funerals to express sadness. This is why in these cultures white is unwanted or even forbidden at wedding ceremonies. It also symbolizes resurrection, showing that death is not final separation from this world. White is also observed in some Asian and Eastern cultures as a symbol of purity, divinity and serenity, so it is used in many religious rituals of purification. In some regions of India, white is a color reserved for a widow, which is why the bride usually wears red dress instead of a white one.

If you plan your wedding in a different culture or you are invited as a guest, make sure to study the local customs, and do not forget to think about the meaning of colors as well, since it is an important aspect of culture we often tend to forget.

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