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Luke, Birmingham UK - In China they have what are know as hong bao's (literally 'red envelopes/letters'). These contain money and are used for any celebratory occasion such as weddings and birthdays etc. They are a custom from more than a thousand years ago. If that isn't the source of a 'red letter day' then I'm a monkey's uncle.
calvin, London UK - Yet contact between China and Persia through the silk route had long been going on, thus carrying common concepts through to Greece and Rome and then to the English language. I'm saying the original meaning would be sourced in China and was later applied to calender dates.
Calvin, London Uk - In pre-Reformation missals (and, I assume, post-Reformation ones in countries that didn't suffer the Reformation) the Ordo had Feast Days marked in red, to denote the liturgy required that day (ie, a High Mass rather than a said one). This was undoubtedly necessary, since the education of some rural Priests would not necessarily have been a very exhaustive one.
Simon, Suffolk UK - I am sorry to contradict Calvin but, if he were to be correct, other European languages would also have have the phrase "Red Letter Day". A review of certain dictionaries (French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Welsh) indicates that the translation of "Red Letter Day" is variously "memorable", "special", "festival", "joyful" day. The Welsh dictionary I looked in had the phrase "un o ddyddiau coch y calendr" - i.e. "one of the red letter days in the calendar." However, what clinches it for me is the German translation "mit roten Buchstaben verzeichnet, which literally translates as "noted (or written) down with red characters/type/letter". Note the word "Staben" is used (not "Brief"). I conclude that, although the Chinese origin appears attractive, the OED derivation is probably the correct one.
Tony, St Albans England - I was always under the impression, that letters received by families notifying them that a loved one was deceased in war was written in red ink. Hence a red letter day being a memorable date. However over time the connotation has been mis-represented. Letters written in red ink are still regarded warily as there is the thought in many cultures that writing in red pen indicates the writer will die soon, which is similar to my original notation.
Jade, London Add your answer  |
