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Sundays Are Red, Fridays are Blue, Pumpkin-Spice Colored Skirts Are Totally in Too
Red is for Sunday,Credit: Travel Cambodia Online.
Monday is orange that looks truly like the divine Moon,
Purple is reserved for Tuesday,
Wednesday is the beautiful green of the liep plant.
Thursday is the yellowish green of the young banana palm,
Happy Friday is blue, and must be neat and tidy,
Saturday is the color of ripe pring,
As passed down by the ancients.
According to Khmer tradition, each day of the week is associated with a certain color. And that color is linked to a certain divinity that is venerated on that day. People are advised to dress each day according to the color of the presiding divinity to bring health, prosperity, and happiness to their lives. In the olden days, women would dress accordingly every day. Nowadays, this doesn’t really occur except at formal functions where you would see women wearing the same color of skirts and shawls.
The days and colors go as follows:
Monday is Chandra the Moon. The moon is seen as orange, which represents victory and a peaceful heart. Thus on Monday, we wear orange in salutation to the moon god.
Tuesday is the day of the fierce and ferocious Kartikeya, the war god. To placate this troublemaker, we wear purple.
Vivid green is the color of Wednesday, which is linked to Krishna, the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu.
Thursday is considered to be an auspicious day as it is the day of Lord Vishnu, whose color is yellow. The color to wear on Thursday is yellowish green, though both colors for Wednesday and Thursday can be worn interchangeably. Most schools open their school year on a Thursday because students are believed to learn quickly on that day. Ceremonies, religious or otherwise, are mostly held on Thursdays as well.
Rich blue is the color of Friday, which belongs to the vicious and wrathful Durga (another form of the Mother Goddess Shakti). The goddess’ fury and rage are aimed only at evil and demonic forces in order to liberate the oppressed and to ensure the power of creation. Durga is also known as the one who destroys all distress. In Khmer culture, her day is referred to as happy Friday. And to honor her, we are advised to dress neatly and to dress well. If you are planning to move into a new home, Friday is the day to do so.
Saturday, unlike Friday, is called sad Saturday as it is the day of Shani Dev, the hunter. Shani Dev is the harbinger of retribution and ill luck. To offset this, we wear the color of ripe pring, a kind of jambul plum, a combination of rich burgundy and dark blue. Dark plum is the go-to color for when you don’t have the others on hand. It is also the color of royalty.
Sunday is Surya the Sun. Surya is represented by ruby and the color of red. To honor the sun, we wear red, which is a strong and powerful color that can have an impact on our feelings.
So ladies, the next time you’re standing in front of a closet full of clothes and still can’t figure out what to wear, I hope this post can solve your dilemma.
Published in General
Interesting cultural highlight.
A color-coded week! I like it, though for someone who is already ahead of the game when his socks match, it would constitute a challenge.
White!
Oh.
Blood red!
Royal purple? Well, close enough, I suppose.
Red fury!
Oh, c’mon!
I’m so confused.
LC, as usual, an unusual post on Khmer culture. Sometimes your posts make me hungry for noodles, other times sad for current or past trials of the people there.
But today’s was mostly a delight. Except for:
Durga is also known as the one who destroys all distress. In Khmer culture, her day is referred to as happy Friday. And to honor her, we are advised to dress neatly and to dress well. If you are planning to move into a new home, Friday is the day to do so.
This left me puzzled. The Goddess Durga is the destroyer, sometimes an ultimate destroyer. Although the claim is she also destroys distress, I am not sure I could move on her day without wondering if the moving van would unload my belongings at the wrong address. In the rain, right before a flash flood wipes them all away.
I think the general idea is that any mover careless enough to break something will be destroyed.
LC, I enjoyed learning this about the Khmer tradition. I love color and its associations. Back in grade school, I had a set of underwear with a day of the week stitched on each and in varied colors. Sunday was white (boring!) and was my least favorite.
@lidenscheng, play us another Cambodian pop song from the 50s or 60s.
I can’t get enough of that stuff.
I’ll just add my favorite one here. You’re welcome Ricochet.
And thank you, LC!
Hahaha I don’t know why you feel that way. She’s very motherly.
Shaktism, with Durga as the main deity, was probably the most popular sect in the 6th and 7th centuries Cambodia. There’re so many sculptures of her from that period.
You have great taste.
So do you.
I could see her being both. You know what they say. “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
Hurray for another informative and entertaining post by @lidenscheng! This post closes out the September 2019 Group Writing Theme: “Autumn Colors.” October’s theme is “Trick or Treat!” Treat yourself to a post, nothing tricky about it. Our schedule and sign-up sheet awaits.
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.