Series by Masami Wake | Get Ahead of 2013's Lucky Colors with a Christmas Wreath!

FLORALUXE | Floraluxe

Next year's lucky colors: gold, orange, and blue

Get a head start on 2013's lucky colors with a Christmas wreath!

This year's trending color was 'peacock green.' Blue-green is the color of water, the sea, the sky, forest trees, and the earth. Perhaps because it encompasses all of nature, it has a calming power. Its associated symbol is the peacock. If you look closely at a peacock's feather, you'll see iridescent hues of purple, fuchsia pink, and copper gold alongside blue and green. We will combine these colors using various floral materials.

Text & Photo by Wake Masami

The legend of the 'hundred eyes' that became a peacock feather pattern

The peacock has deep ties to Christianity and is often used in decorations during this season in Europe and America. There's a legend from Greek mythology that explains why.

—There was a beautiful priestess named Io who served the goddess Hera. One day, she received an oracle commanding her to yield herself to Zeus, and she became his lover. However, to deceive his jealous wife Hera, Zeus cleverly transformed his lover Io into a pure white heifer.

But Hera, seeing through the deception, desired the heifer and assigned the giant Argos, who had a hundred eyes all over his body, to guard her. Argos's hundred eyes took turns watching the heifer, day and night.

Meanwhile, Zeus ordered Hermes to steal the heifer. Hermes devised a plan to lull Argos to sleep with the beautiful melody of his reed pipe. Gradually, Argos's hundred eyes grew heavy, and eventually, he fell into a deep sleep. Hermes then cut off his head and rescued the heifer.

Hera mourned Argos's death and adorned the peacock's tail feathers with his eyes. Since then, the hundred eyes have become the pattern on peacock feathers...

Thus, in Christianity, the peacock's tail pattern became a symbol of 'all-seeing eyes.' Although 'all-seeing eyes' later acquired a strong sense of scrutiny, it originally meant 'watching over all people.'

Furthermore, because peacocks shed and replace their feathers each spring, they came to symbolize 'eternity,' particularly 'rebirth,' and represented the immortality of the soul.

And next year's lucky colors are said to be 'gold, orange, and blue.' It would be wonderful to incorporate blue into our Christmas wreaths early to usher in a fortunate year in 2013.