As I write this, I am in the middle of preparing a service to celebrate the start of Ipswich Town’s new premiership season. I was reminded of the Chelsea song ‘Blue is the colour’. That led me to think about blue in nature – and there isn’t much – a few flowers – no fruit are truly blue. Even those called blue e.g. blueberries are more purple than blue.
The world of natural food is dominated by reds, greens, and yellows, whereas blue, barely exists in nature. This is becausethe pigment responsible for nearly all blue, purple, and red hues in plants is called anthocyanin which exhibits a dramatic colour shift based on the acidity or alkalinity of their environment – red in acid, purple in neutral pH and only blue in alkaline situations – less common in plant biology. This inevitably leads to few blue foods.
Since many of the most effective seed dispersers and pollinators are more strongly attracted to the highly contrasting colours of red and yellow against a green background blue plants have had less selective advantage. The blue colour wavelength also carries the highest energy, and chlorophyll, the primary photosynthetic pigment, absorbs blue light most effectively, meaning a blue surface would reflect this high-energy light rather than utilize it.
However, the word ‘blue’ appears 50 times in the Old Testament- most in the book of Exodus (34), followed by Numbers (6) and three times in 2 Chronicles, Esther and Ezekiel. According to this research, the colour blue isn’t mentioned at all in the New Testament. The Hebrew word used is tekeleth used in reference to the rare cerulean mussel, from the Mediterranean Sea, from which the dye was obtained. It may be that a blue dye could be extracted from the rind of pomegranates or from stones and minerals such as azurite, ultramarine, smalt, indigo and lapis lazuli.
The Law demanded that blue be used for Tabernacle hangings, prayer shawls and other articles of Priests’ clothing and later it was adopted along with white for the star of David and vertical stripes on the national flag.
Why was blue so important and the most prominent colour in Judaism – even though it was rare in the natural world and difficult to obtain? It is often associated with divinity and spirituality, symbolizing a connection with God through the sky and heavens.
I’m not convinced that ITFC’s choice of a blue and white kit was for the same symbolic reasons! Apparently, the home kit colours have represented the club’s identity since it was established in 1878. It reflects the town’s past and a tribute to the town’s rural landscape where agriculture plays a significant role in the local economy (the need for blue skies and water).
Hopefully, as we chant “Come on, you blues!” this season, we will be reminded to also spend some time connecting with God.