Thanks to all who have shared information and remembrances thus far about the cultural meanings of the color black...

I very much appreciate your contributions to this thread.

It's just that I'm on a roll* re: this other subject about snakes...

*whole wheat

But, to show you that I can walk and chew gum at the same time, check out information from these two online sources about color meanings:

Black: Modernity, power, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, style, evil, death, fear, anonymity, anger, sadness, remorse, mourning, unhappiness, mysterious, sex, seriousness, conventionality, rebellion, sorrow, January.

White: Reverence, purity, snow, peace, innocence, cleanliness, simplicity, security, humility, sterility, winter, coldness, clinicism, surrender, cowardice, fearfulness, unimaginative, air, fire, death, hope, Aries, Pisces (star signs), January.
-snip-

[see information about these and other colors at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Symbolism

**

"SYMBOLISM OF COLOR:
USING COLOR FOR MEANING

Color is considered one of the most useful and powerful design tools you have. People respond to different colors in different ways, and these responses take place on a subconscious, emotional level. In our American culture, black has long been associated with death, while white is believed to signify life and purity. In the Orient, however, white is the traditional color of mourning. In the United States, black has also come to suggest sophistication and formality. Americans generally associate trust an stability with the color blue, while Koreans have this reaction to pink and other pastel colors...
-snip-

For the complete article and links, click
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/color2.htm