Background information on purple, Valentines and more.

Some interesting info regarding the color purple and more follows.  I wanted to include more in the limited puzzles for the party, but time beat me to it.  In any case, I hope you see where I got some of my ideas below (and on the links).

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According to Color Communications Inc., "Research reveals all human beings
make a subconscious judgment about a person, event, or item within 90
seconds of initial viewing and that between 62% and 90% of that assessment
is based on color alone."
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A site that I used for the history of Valentines and more on the holiday

including:

 

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.
Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. THE good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

and

The first commercial valentine greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840's by Esther A. Howland.

For a more Christian perspective on Valentine's Day, click here.

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The Tincture Purpure
This discussion relies on Pastoureau's Traité d'Héraldique.

There has long been some uncertainty about the status of the tincture
purpure in heraldry, for its place is not as firm as that of the others, and
its use is fairly rare. Some authors have even disputed that it is a true
tincture, although the Spanish kingdom of Leon was blazoned: argent, a lion
purpure as early as 1245, and the tincture appears in French and English
armories of the 13th c, and in numerous Round Table armories of the 14th and
15th c. There is thus no doubt that it was a color, but there is doubt as to
which color it was.

Until the early 15th c., it is usually depicted as a color in-between grey
and brown. Later heraldists have thought that this color was a result of
pigment deterioration; but certain treatises of the 15th c. make it quite
clear that purpure is a combination of the other 4 colors in equal
proportion. It is plausible that, in the 16th c., the diffusion of Classical
culture made most people think of purpure as the Roman purple, and the
color, which was rare in any case, was changed to purple to accommodate the
word, rather than the reverse.

The question is now, where does the name "purpure" itself come from, and how
was it applied to this grey-brown color? It appears that, until 1260-70,
there is a color called "bis", sometimes called "gris" or brun"; the term
"bis" disappears exactly when the term purpure becomes more common, clearly
replacing the former. The key is this: originally, in medieval French the
word "pourpre" or "porpre" was a kind of fabric, and not a color. The fabric
could be tinted in various colors, and (non-heraldic) medieval texts mention
"porpre vermeille", "porpre noire", "porpre verte", etc. The most common
such fabric was a low-quality grade called "porpre bise". Over time the
terms bis and porpre became synonyms, and porpre or purpure replaced bis.

About 200 arms have been found in Europe using purpure.

The Imperial Purple
Purple (purpura) was the color of the dye extracted from a Mediterranean
shell-fish, of the genus Murex. The city of Tyr in Phoenicia was especially
famous for producing the dye. The color was of many possibile shades
depending on the actual production process, but it was described as
"blood-red". One of its attractions was that it was the only color-fast dye
known to the Ancients: you could wash your toga many times and it would
still be bright red. It was also expensive: the combination of the two made
it a status symbol from very early times, through the Greeks and to the
Romans. By the late Empire, some types of purple were reserved for the
Imperial family and officials. After the conquest of Tyr by Arabs in the 7th
c. the manufacturing continued in the Byzantine Empire, and they supplied
courts and Church with died wool and silk. After the fall of Byzantium in
1453 the supply disappeared, and in 1464 the Pope authorized the use of
cochineal as an ersatz to die cardinals' and archbishops' robes. It also
seems to be about that time that the meaning of purple started slipping from
crimson-red or blood-red to our modern mix of red and blue.

The shell-fish Murex still exists, but there are several varieties, and in
spite of Plinus' explanations it is not quite clear how the dye was made.
There have been modern attempts at duplicating the color, but the pictures I
saw were not very convincing, and the colors ranged from orange to violet.

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Mardi Gras colors!

Each color has a meaning:

Purple - justice
Green - faith
Yellow - power

These colors were adopted in 1872 as the official Carnival colors because
they were the Romanoff household colors and the Russian Grand Duke Alexis
Romanoff had come to New Orleans at carnival time pursuing actress Lydia
Thompson.
Forty businessmen got together, founded the Krewe of Rex, and staged a
daytime parade in the archduke's honor. This is still the biggest parade on
Mardi Gras day.
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Purple symbolisms

(+) Royality, loyality, power, memories, truth, religion

(­) Lust, decadence, penitence, mourning, secrecy, mystery

Characteristics: feeling of fantasy.
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The chuvash word "purpur" and the russian word "purpurnyi~", both used in
the official discription of the flag, do not mean "purple", in it's usual
english meaning. Correct translation of "purple" to russian would be
"fioletovyi~".
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Amethyst
   February's birthstone is the amethyst. It's said that the signet ring
worn by Cleopatra was an amethyst, engraved with the figure of Mithras, a
Persian diety symbolizing the Divine Idea, Source of Light and Life. It is
also said to be the stone of Saint Valentine, who wore an amethyst engraved
with the figure of his assistant, Cupid. Saint Valentine's Day is still
observed in February.

Amethysts contain the second most abundant mineral found in Earth's crust --
quartz. Quartz is often found lining the insides of geodes. So it's no
wonder that geodes sometimes contain amethysts too. Like quartz, amethysts
are a transparent form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). An amethyst's color can
range from a faint mauve to a rich purple. It's not clear why they're
purple. Some scientists believe the purple color arises from the amethysts'
iron oxide content, while others attribute the color to manganese or
hydrocarbons.

Amethysts are very sensitive to heat. When heated to 400 or 500 degrees
Celsius, an amethyst's color changes to a brownish-yellow or red. Under some
circumstances, the stones can turn green when heated. Heat may even
transform an amethyst into a naturally-rare mineral called citrine. And even
without heating, the violet color of an amethyst may fade over time.

Commercial sources of amethyst are Brazil and Uruguay; while in the US, most
amethyst is found in Arizona and North Carolina.

The amethyst has a rich history of lore and legend. It can be traced back as
far as 25,000 years ago in France, where it was used as a decorative stone
by prehistoric humans. It has also been found among the remains of Neolithic
man.

The word amethyst comes from the Greek word "amethystos" meaning "not
drunk", and was believed to prevent its wearers from intoxication. The
following is a story from Greco-Roman mythology as quoted from "Birthstones"
by Willard Heaps:

"Bacchus, the god of wine in classical mythology, was offended by Diana the
huntress. Determined on revenge, he declared that the first person he met as
he went through the forest would be eaten by his tigers. As it happened, the
first person to cross his path was the beautiful maiden Amethyst on her way
to worship at the shrine of Diana. In terror, she called upon the goddess to
save her, and before his eyes, Bacchus observed the maiden changed to a pure
white, sparkling image of stone. Realizing his guilt and repenting his
cruelty, Bacchus poured grape wine over her, thus giving the stone the
exquisite violet hue of the amethyst. The carryover to nonintoxication was
quite logical, and in ancient Rome, amethyst cups were used for wine so
drinkers would have no fear of overindulgence."

The early Egyptians believed that the amethyst possessed good powers, and
placed the stones in the tombs of pharoahs. During the Middle Ages, it was
used as medication, believed to dispel sleep, sharpen intellect, and protect
the wearer from sorcery. It was also believed to bring victory in battle. In
Arabian mythology, the amethyst was supposed to protect the wearer from bad
dreams and gout. The amethyst was also the stone of royalty, representing
power.
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Birth Color for July

usufuji, or pale wisteria
Lilac, or wisteria violet, is represented by the color taken from the flower
cluster of the wisteria. From the ladies of the Heian period Court until
recent years, this color is the color loved most by Japanese women. There
are various options according the kasane layered colors, among them are
purple and pale purple, or pale purple and blue.

* peace... Japanese fabrics ordered with pale wisteria give a sense of
security as if being enveloped.
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HTML code
Purple = "#800080"
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Advent

To begin, put four candles on a wreath or at least in a circle.
Traditionally the candles are purple, because in antiquity, purple dye was
very expensive and it was the color of royalty. We use purple for Advent
because it is the season of the coming of the King. If you can't get purple
candles, you can substitute blue ones. You can also make one of the candles
pink if you like-technically, it is rose colored. If you have a fifth
candle, it goes in the center of the wreath and it should be white.

If you're curious about the use of color in worship, you can read more about
colors.

Here are the five candles and their symbolism:

First Candle
Color: Purple
Theme: Hope
First Sunday in Advent
Second Candle
Color: Purple
Theme: Love
Second Sunday in Advent
Third Candle
Color: Purple or pink
Theme: Joy
Third Sunday in Advent
Fourth Candle
Color: Purple
Theme: Peace
Fourth Sunday in Advent
Optional Center Candle
Color: White
Theme: Christmas
Christmas Day
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Thoughts on Purple

Purple robe on a
Purple king in a
Purple velvet chair.
Purple-clad guards make
Purple circles in the lazy afternoon sun.
Purple smoke drifts through broken
Purple glass, making little
Purple clouds.
Purple sunset on a
Purple beach, with
Purple people and
Purple waves.
Purple men in
Purple suits walk swiftly down busy
Purple streets; to
Purple jobs with
Purple pay.
Purple poets in their
Purple coffeehouses, drinking
Purple lattes, (at
Purple prices).
Purple lover's whisper
Purple nothings, as above, a
Purple wind writhes.
Purple tears roll down a
Purple bruise on a
Purple cheek;
But she still loves him, in a
Purple sort of way.

Brad Wile
St. Mary's High School
Calgary, Alberta
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Thanks to Google.com for helping me find all this unique stuff.  :)