The first night of a new year has been celebrated for at least four thousand years. It is the one holiday that is celebrated in just about the same way across the globe – with spectacular fireworks, music, food, dancing, spirited drinks, and plenty of hugs, kisses, and well-wishes for a Happy New Year. The celebrations start on New Year’s Eve with dinner and dancing and will last until the wee hours of the morning.
The tradition in America also includes wearing or decorating one’s home with gold and silver. These two unofficial but elegant colors represent prosperity and abundance – the very thing millions of people hope for in the coming year. When you see either silver or gold in advertising, it typically adds a sense of wealth, elegance, or prestige to the message.
Ancient New Year’s celebrations were often marked with massive religious ceremonies. The Babylonians celebrated it on the vernal equinox, a day in late March when the amount of sunlight and darkness were equal and the agricultural season would change and bring a bounty.
Later, when January 1st was designated on the Roman calendar as the first day of a new year, celebrations offered sacrifices to Roman gods, people exchanged gifts with one another, held raucous parties, and decorated their homes with laurel branches.
Continue reading to discover how we still associate the new year on the first day of the Gregorian calendar with bounty and why we associate gold and silver with New Year’s celebrations and affluence – which is the state of having a great deal of money.
The Colors Gold and Silver
Gold and silver are not technically considered true colors but reflective color tones that simulate the shade of the corresponding precious metals. Both these metals are naturally occurring alloys in which the deepness of the color depends on how much pure gold or pure silver is contained in the metal. Jewelers and metalworkers will add copper to pure gold to obtain a brassier, redder, and less expensive gold.
Pure gold is classified as 24 carats and contains no other metals, while 18-carat gold contains 75 percent gold and 25 percent other metals, often copper or silver.
Native or natural silver metal is formed deep underground or within mountainous terrain when particular compounds are introduced to sulfur, hot temperatures, and dissolved salty water or brine. Silver is not a pure metal but a precious transition metal. Most of the silver that is formed today is a silver mineral found in ore mines that may also contain copper, gold, or iron.
Sterling silver is made up of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper or zinc. Fine silver is closest to the pure element silver and is 99.9% pure silver.
So, when we think of having a successful and prosperous new year, the best colors to represent wealth are the two most beautiful and bountiful precious metals, gold and silver. Precious gold is considered a masculine color, while pure silver equates to a feminine color. Yes, the colors gold and silver have unique personalities besides representing money!
The Psychology of Color
It is an old myth that all animals see only shades of black and white. Science has determined that animals associate different colors with different attributes of their environment. However, humans are the only species whose brain connects color with emotions – and most of this is likely a product of advertising and marketing.
Color has come to represent different moods, behaviors, emotions, and personalities. A red-blooded person is said to be full of sexual energy while being green with envy is the worst type of jealousy. A blue-blooded American typically refers to one with inherited wealth, while a blue-collar worker is one that makes money performing physical labor. Black comedy makes fun of tragic situations, while a golden opportunity is one that may never come along again.
These color idioms or groups of words that contain a color have gained a recognized and established meaning that is understood without saying the specific words. The psychology of color is the study of how our brains connect and respond to different colors. And the gold and silver tones of New Year’s Eve celebrations are no different.
Can Gold and Silver Enhance New Year’s Eve Behaviors?
The metallic colors incite certain behaviors, just like the other colors mentioned above. This is why silver and gold are often used for the New Year’s Eve celebration. Both colors represent a certain energy and power in the brain associated with affluence and success. Gold, with its warm undertones, shines like the sun. Silver is bright and shiny and can give off a moon-like glow.
The colors gold and silver are often linked to championship behaviors. After all, most trophies or medallions tend to be gold or silver colored. So, how do the colors gold and silver affect us when we are entering a brand-new year? We all want a prosperous and healthy new year. We all want our wealth to increase and our problems to decrease in the upcoming year.
Silver and gold are the best colors to represent success – and they just happen to be so classy and elegant that these colors make for the most stunning wardrobes and decor. New Year’s celebrations are not considered formal events. Else, everyone would wear black and white outfits. But, this special holiday is when anyone can don glittering, shining, sparkling attire, and feel perfectly outfitted for the occasion. No other holiday has so much shine and glamour associated with it as New Year’s!
How the Classic Gold Tone Is Created
New Year’s celebrations will often include the wearing of gold clothing, jewelry, or hats. The home or party decorations will also typically have lots of gold elements to signify that feeling of prosperity and wealth. This is also the time to wear your best gold jewelry for a night of high fashion. So, when you look around and see all these gold embellishments, you might wonder how the color gold is actually created.
The color gold, according to the RGB model, is a mixture of red and green colors. RGB is a digital model of colors, a light-based color scheme based on the mixing of red, green, and blue colors. A computer can generate the exact amount of red and green in each pixel to obtain many different golden colors that simulate gold.
The different shades of gold found in consumer products will mix yellow shades, such as mustard yellow, with different brown shades, such as dark tan, to obtain a deeper, more natural golden color. But, if you have two crayons, the easiest way to create gold is to layer yellow and brown colors together. The more yellow added to brown, the brighter the color gold. Add a hint of red, and you have rose gold.
Simulating the Beautiful Tone of Pure Silver
Once again, while not actually a true color, silver is an easy tone to create. Silver starts with the color gray, created by combining different amounts of black and white. Then the true silver tone is created when a shiny or metallic look is added to the color.
When you think of the color silver, you imagine a sleek, polished, metallic sheen laid on top of the color gray. In the hand-drawn world of color, this shine is created by adding a reflection to the item. With a computer simulation, this is accomplished with a sparkle editing effect.
In marketing, plenty of shades of silver have more or less white color, and some degree of shine added. These include dim gray, pale silver, and Roman silver.
How to Decorate a Party for New Year’s
It is pretty easy to embellish a home with gold and silver appointments for the perfect New Year celebrations. Gold-stemmed champagne glasses to sterling silver serving platters are both fun and festive. A beautiful centerpiece is easily created when a large clear glass container is filled with silver and gold ornaments of all sizes.
Styrofoam balls of different sizes can be spray-painted gold and silver and hung from the ceiling to create a stunning foyer entrance. Gold tinsel, gold and silver confetti poppers and balloons, and UBER-large gold numerals that represent the numerical new year are all appropriate.
Not to worry, New Year’s is heavily marketed by big box retailers. You will find loads of gold and silver decorations, candies, and table settings to dazzle your family and friends. Any table setting can look glamorous and expensive with gold-accented plates, napkins, and cups.
One thing to remember with your gold and silver New Year’s colors is to keep it festive and sophisticated. When you decorate with the sparkling elements of gold and silver, good fortune may follow you in the new year.
