“Redheads are like other women, only more so.”
It all began with the mythical Atlantians ...
Legend speaks of Prince Idon of Mu, the first redhead and discoverer of Atlantis. When he happened upon Atlantis, he was marked with the island’s red sunset and stunning, red and orange leaves, in the form of red hair and freckles so that he might remind future generations of Atlantians of the first sunset
After Atlantis disappeared, something had to take the place of bedtime stories and The Garden of Eden fairy tale came to be. Lilith, first wife of Adam, supposedly was a ginger. Eventually, being an irascible lass, she was asked to leave The Garden because she refused to take Adam's shite. Sound like any gingers you know?
As the Ginger pertains to real humans of history, archaeologists have excavated Egyptian pharaohs whose hair registered red pigments. Of the most notable, possible Egyptinger was Ramesses II (c. 1,303 BC to 1,213 BC), a.k.a. Ramesses the Great.
Despite her iconic blue-black bob, Cleopatra (c. 69BCE - c. August, 30BCE), Queen of Ptolemaic Egypt, is thought to actually have been a ginger. However, considering the ancient Egyptians superstitions, believing gingers bad luck enough to sacrifice them to the god Osiris, it is doubtful Cleopatra was a noticeable redhead. Maybe the black bob was for more than being chic. Method of sacrifice, btw? Death by live-burial.
The ancient Greeks were less superstitious, but still held a belief gingers transformed into vampires after death. In this life, however, gingers were thought of as honourable, courageous and exceptionally fertile. The Greek poet Xenophanes (c. 4,000BCE) wrote of the Thracian gods, that they were blessed of red hair and blue eyes. As they crafted their gods in their own eyes, it is of anthropological curiosity, that perchance the ancient Thracians themselves were a race of blue-eyed gingers. Add to this the fact many a Thracian gravestone was inscribed with Rufus, meaning "redhead", we certainly have some cultural evidence.
Mighty Aphrodite, the goddess of love (not Mira Sorvino, goddess though she is), was supposedly a ginger. Menelaus’ wife, a.k.a. Helen of Troy, is written as having the ginge-tinge, in Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad also describes Greek heroes Menelaus and Achilles as gingers.
Jumping ahead a few centuries, the Romans thought gingers to be very good luck, notably when choosing Briton and Irish slaves during their conquest the British Isles and parts of the rugged, Western Isle (Ireland). This was notably reflected in the cost of a ginger slave, especially female gingers, as they were a pricier commodity than blondes and brunettes.
“While the rest of the human race are descended from monkeys, redheads derive from cats.”
Coming out of the Classical and Dark Ages, just when you thought it was save to be a ginger, here come Heinrich Kramer, Germany's terrifying, 17thC. witch-burnings, and the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. A little shy of the Age of Enlightenment, religious leaders still ruled the roosts and the Malleus Maleficarum, a Catholic treatise on witchcraft, (written by German clergyman Heinrich Kramer, 1486), was used across Europe and New England from the 15th - 17th Centuries in rooting out witches. Nearly two-hundred years after publication, the Malleus (trans. Hammer of Witches) would be cited, to call out potential offenders in Salem Village: "red hair and green eyes" were notably marks of witches, werewolves or vampires. Freckles and moles were, clearly "marks of the devil". Adding to the fearsome Zeitgeist, in 1613, playwright George Chapman wrote, in his play Bussy D’Ambois, the perfect poison must include the fat of a red-haired man.
Of note, because we're always learning new things about that monster, during WWII, it was reported Hitler forbade ginger marriages, to ensure no ginger bairns would be born under Nazi rule.
Of history's more ridiculous castigations, are that gingers are born of "unclean sex" (i.e. conceived during Aunt Flo's visit), have no souls, and were all pitched at birth into the woods.left to claw their way back into civilzation, which expains their wily and suspicious nature. Modern, 21stC. myths are mild and varied, and, obviously, not the belief system of entire regions or countries, only the superstitious.
In Poland, passing three gingers in a row means enough good luck to win the lottery. Less beneficent, and sanitary, in Corsica, France, if one passes a ginger on the road, spit once and turn around to ward off bad luck. (So, are black cats considered bad luck in Corsica, or are tabbies, I wonder?)British tradition says, on New Year’s Day, your first call, or text, of the day portends your luck for the year: brunettes bring the best luck (of course!), blondes bring you nothing (no harm, no foul), widows and widowers bring very bad luck ... and if a ginger is your first of the year ... cross yourself and keep eye for falling pianos. Denmark, conversely, finds great honour and luck in the birth of a ginger baby. That's a lovely myth! Awwwww :) Take that, Hitler!
Being ginger is contagious, btw ... according to Eric Cartman, anyhoo. The disease is known as "Gingerviitus" and, as is evidenced by South Park episode "Ginger Kids" (S9e11). (Remember, kids, the "Ginger Separatist Movement" is fictional, not real, it's comedic satire. K? Got it? Don't be so literal, some of you. Trey Parker and Matt Stone caught a lot of guff in 2005 because of some mo-rons whom took this episode waaaay too seriously. Calm down, some of you.)
"We've all seen them, on the playground, at the store, walking on the streets. They creep us out and make us feel sick to our stomachs. I'm talking of course about ... ginger kids."
Facts are nice. Here are some facts.
According to a Clairol Color Attitude survey, 49% of those polled found blondes to be naïve, while only 15% found the same of gingers. When asked, if the word “bold” describes them, 71% of gingers said it did, only 47% of blondes thought themselves bold. Brunettes were off the charts.
Whilst it seems a low countenance, the global ginger-population stands at only 1% - 2%; that's natural redheads, btw. You'd think the ginger hubs to be Scotland and Ireland, and you'd be spot-on. Scotland calls approximately 13% of its population ginger; Ireland counts about 10% and, surprisingly, the U.S. claims only 2% - 6%. Of course, we have a much larger population in America, so that's still a big chunk, like still some 6million - 18million gingers roaming the streets of Boston, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Egad!
Why are gingers ginger? Hello, Melanocortin 1 receptor, a.k.a. MC1R: a recessive gene which must be passed on from both mother and father to create that lucky, ginger babe. The ginger gene is actually a mutation of MC1R on chromosome 16; so, clearly, gingers are not only rare and beautiful, but kind of like cool, mutant superheroes, like Spider-Man. He wears red. Cheers to University of Edinburgh's Prof. Jonathan Rees, who, in 1995, discovered that special superhero gene, known as the "ginger gene". Geneticists estimate the MC1R mutation likely occurred 20,000-40,000 years ago.
Apropos, British and Irish surnames are reflective of their historically-high, ginger populations: Flanary, meaning “red eyebrow”; Reid, meaning “red-haired, ruddy-complexioned”; and Flynn, meaning “bright red”.
Of further interest, BritainsDNA, a genetics-testing lab specializing in British, Welsh, Irish and Scottish deep-ancestry, discovered 40+% of the world population carries the recessive ginger gene. If both parents carry the gene, there's a 25% chance of bearing that lucky ginger bairn; if two gingers get busy, ta-dahhhhh! 100% chance of a twee Flynn. Maybe a move to Denmark is in your cards, ginger couples.
Just for extra fun, famous gingers:
Roman emperor Nero, Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, and Aphrodite (as prev referenced), Seth Green, Queen Elizabeth I, Conan O'Brien, Julianne Moore, Napoleon Bonaparte, Benedict Cumberbatch, Oliver Cromwell, Emily Dickinson, Antonio Vivaldi, Thomas Jefferson, Vincent Van Gogh, Ron Howard, Mark Twain, James Joyce, Winston Churchill, Malcolm X (yep), Galileo, King David, Galileo Galilei, Kate Winslet, Marilyn Monroe, Gillian Anderson, Prince Harry, Melissa Gilbert and Shaun White.
Even more fun, fictional gingers we love!
Lois Griffin, Jessica Rabbit, Anne Shirley, Madeline, Ariel, Red Sonja, Ron Weasley, Beaker, Alf, Daphne Blake, Black Widow, Kyle Broflovski, Winifred Sanderson, Garfield, Elmo, Pippi Longstocking, Strawberry Shortcake, Kieran Kelly Mulholland (from The Darlings of Orange County) and Erin Tara O'Connor (from Savannah of Williamsburg: The Trials of Blackbeard and His Pirates).
Did I mention my envy, my Kelly green, kind envy, in the nicest way possible, of course. Who is more beauteous than a ginger in Kelly, Emerald or Hunter green? Add those green or blue eyes and, zowie! Would that I could. Mine is to be an Anne Hathaway - pale, Snow Whitey and dark of mane - and I'm quite happy with that: great for cosplaying choices! Still, would that I could've engineered myself ... curly carrot-locks, blue eyes and freckles, lots of freckles.
Happy St. Patrick's Day, pog ma thoin and Sláinte to all, especially all you beauteous gingers!
