a Samburu wedding celebration, Kenya
Water in a red creek bed
red laser showing imperfections in large mirror, Arizona
Red sea oats and storm clouds
Chinese cave decked out for a wedding
a couple ballroom dancing, New York
Taiwanese children with red umbrellas
flowers blooming in a field, Israel
Geisha painting her lips red
Entrance of a Moroccan mosque
Red tide in an African lake
Red maple leaf on a tree trunk
A maple tree with red leaves
A child's shadow on a red wall
Red car on East Berlin street
Red sumac leaves
Blue-stained hands and red wool
1 of 17
Wedding Ceremony

Red, the color of human blood, symbolizes passion, fire, love, and anger. In Eastern cultures, it also connotes luck and prosperity. Red occurs throughout nature, from dying stars to dying leaves, and humans have evoked its powers for everything from politics to sports.

Here, Samburu families celebrate during a three-day wedding ceremony in Kenya. Several days of elaborate ceremonies are designed to counteract superstitions and bring the new couple good luck.(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)

Photograph by Michael Nichols, National Geographic

Life in Color: Red

See photos of the color red, from National Geographic.

Go Further