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peace symbol

A peace symbol is a thing or occurrence that for various reasons has been connected with and chosen to symbolize peace. A peace symbol is generally regarded as a very positive symbol, and are used for many causes, for example by various international organizations, as well as in protest or manifestations.

Generic peace symbols

The dove and the olive branch

A white dove is generally a symbol for peace. This comes from an old biblical motif; a dove was supposed to have been released by Noah after the flood in order to find land; it came back carrying an olive branch, telling Noah that, somewhere, there was land. A dove with an olive branch, then, has come to symbolize peace.

==="The 70's" peace symbol===
peace-symbol.png 's foot in a circle.

Holtom had been commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to design a symbol for use at an Easter march to Canterbury Cathedral in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston in England.

The peace symbol was popularized in America by such pacifist figures as Albert Bigelow.

The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphore signals for the letters "N" and "D", standing for Nuclear Disarmament. (The letter "N" is two flags held in an upside-down "V", and the letter "D" is one flag pointed straight up and the other pointed straight down).

Conspiracy theorists have ascribed a number of occult meanings to the symbol, rejecting the explanation that it stems from the semaphore. The far-right John Birch Society, for instance, has referred to it as a "broken cross" – accusing the peace movement of repudiating Christ. It has also been called a relative of the Nazi swastika – or the rune algiz inverted, said to mean "hidden danger". It resembles the rune calc.

In Unicode, the peace symbol is U+262E, and can thus be generated in HTML by typing ☮ or ☮. However, many browsers will not have a font that can display it.

Unique peace symbols

Some unique items have come to symbolize peace, often monuments.

For example, the Japanese Peace Bell was a gift from the UN Association of Japan to the United Nations, presented to them in 1954. The bell remains at UN headquarters and is struck yearly, in remembrance for peace.

External links

- What is the origin of the peace symbol? (from The Straight Dope)

Category:Symbols
Category:Peace

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symbol
A symbol or (in many senses) token is a representation of something — an idea, object, concept, quality, etc..

Nature of symbols

A symbol can be a material object whose shape or origin is related, by nature or convention, to the thing it represents: for instance, the crucifix is the main symbol of Christianity, and the scepter is a traditional symbol of royal power.

A symbol can also be a more or less conventional image (i.e. an icon), or a detail of an image, or even a pattern or color: for example, the olive branch in heraldry represents peace, the halo is a conventional symbol of sainthood in Christian imagery, tartans are symbols of Scottish clans, and the color red is often used as a symbol for socialist movements, especially communism.

More often, a symbol is a conventional written or printed sign (specifically, a glyph), usually standing for anything other than a sound (symbols for sounds are usually called graphemes, letters, logograms, diacritics, etc.). Thus mathematical symbols such as π and + represent quantities and operations, currency symbols represent monetary units, chemical symbols represent elements, and so forth.

Symbols can also be immaterial entities like sounds, words and gestures. The ringing of gongs and bells, and the banging of a judge's gavel, often have conventional meanings in certain contexts; and bowing is a common way to indicate respect. In fact, every word in a natural language is a symbol for some concept or relationship between concepts.

A symbol is usually recognized only within some specific culture, religion, or discipline, but a few hundred symbols are now recognized internationally. See list of common symbols and List of symbols.

Use of symbols

It is human beings' ability to manipulate symbols that allows them to explore the relationships between ideas, things, concepts, and qualities - far beyond the explorations of which any other species on earth is capable. The discipline of semiotics studies symbols and symbol systems in general; semantics is specifically concerned with the main meaning of words.

Literary works are often admired for their artful use of symbolism, i.e. the use of words, phrases and situations to evoke ideas and feelings beyond their plain interpretations; these uses are the subject of literary semiotics. Religious and metaphysical writings are also known for their use of esoteric symbolism. Alchemical writings made extensive use of symbols for spiritual and chemical processes (which they also saw as symbols of each other). The interpretation of dreams as symbols of one's experiences is a main feature of Freudian psychoanalysis and Jungian analytical psychology.

Etymology

The word "symbol" came to the English language, by way of Middle English, Old French, and Latin, from the Greek σύμβολον súmbolon from the root words σύμ- (sym-) meaning "together" and βολή bolḗ "a throw", having the approximate meaning of "to throw together", so "sign, ticket, or contract".

peace symbol

Generic peace symbols

The dove and the olive branch

Unique peace symbols

External links

Nature of symbols

Use of symbols

Etymology

See also

External links