Saffron (color)

This article is about the color. For other uses, see Saffron (disambiguation).

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

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

The first recorded use of saffron as a color name in English was in 1200.

Close-up of a single saffron crocus thread (the dried stigma). Actual length is about 20 millimeters (0.79 in).

Variations of saffron

Rajah

Rajah
— Color coordinates —
Hex triplet		#FBAB60
RGBB	(r, g, b)	(251, 174, 96)
HSV	(h, s, v)	(29°, 62%, 98%)
Source		Resene
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)

Displayed at right is the color rajah.

Rajah is one of the colors on the Resene Color List, a color list widely popular in Australia and New Zealand. The color "rajah" was formulated in 2001.

"Rajah" is a bright deep tone of saffron.

Deep saffron

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

India
Tirang_

Name	India
Use	National flag
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	22 July 1947
Design	Horizontal tricolour flag (deep saffron, white, and green). In the centre of the white is a navy blue wheel with 24 spokes
Designed by	Pingali Venkayya

Deep saffron is the name of color of the upper band of the Indian National Flag (Bharatiya Rashtriya Dhwaj). as specified by the Government of India. Deep saffron, white and what is now called India green were chosen for the three bands, representing courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became India's first Vice President and second President, described the significance of the Indian National Flag as follows:

“

Bhagwa or the [deep] saffron colour denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. Our leaders must be indifferent to material gains and dedicate themselves to their work. The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide our conduct. The green shows our relation to (the) soil, our relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. Truth or satya, dharma or virtue ought to be the controlling principle of those who work under this flag. Again, the wheel denotes motion. There is death in stagnation. There is life in movement. India should no more resist change, it must move and go forward. The wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change.

”

Saffron in nature

Birds

• The Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America and is common in both open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon Basin.

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 kit 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.

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.
• The Saffron Swastika is a 2001 book by Koenraad Elst that argues against the idea that the Hindu Nationalists are fascists in the Western sense of the word.

Religion

Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes, although occasionally maroon, the color normally worn by Vajrayana Buddhist monks, is worn.

• In Sanatan Dharma (Hinduism), the deep saffron color is associated with sacrifice, religious abstinence, quest for light and salvation. Saffron or "Bhagwa" is the most sacred color for the Hindus and is often worn by Sanyasis who have left their home in search of the ultimate truth.
• Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes (although occasionally maroon--the color normally worn by Vajrayana Buddhist monks--is worn). (The tone of saffron typically worn by Theravada Buddhist monks is the lighter tone 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
  

  

  The Nishan Sahib
  .
• The Prophet Muhammad enjoined the rubbing of saffron on the heads of babies after their heads were shaven as part of Aqiqah and he forbade the wearing of saffron colored clothing to male Muslims.

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. On the Indian National Flag the color deep saffron is supposed to represent sacrifice and renunciation of materialism.
• In Rajasthani this color is called kay-ser-ia. The word derives its name from kesar, a spice crop from Kashmir.

See also

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