Lao Voices

One of my co-workers asked if I heard the story of the Green M&Ms, and of course I haven’t. She said that they came out with all Green Peanut M&Ms and showed me the package. The first thing that came to mind was that it must be for St. Patrick’s day that is coming up, but no, she said it’s for Valentine’s day.

Strange, I always thought that Valentine’s colors are red and pink, and she said that they do have them in those colors, but the popular ones are the Green Peanut M&Ms.

What is it about the green ones? On the warning label in back of the package it said,

mPORTANT NOTICE: Consumption of the Green Ones may result in elevated Romance Levels.

I did more research and found strange finding:

Green M&M’s ® have long been the subject of myth as they are considered, by some, to have magical aphrodisiac powers. As to whether or not this is true is, of course, subject to interpretation

Curious as to how this myth may have occurred, we did a little research and learned the following fun facts about the color Green

According to Celtic myths, the Green Man was the God of Fertily

Green has long been considered a metaphor and symbol for fertility and this was evident in the fifteenth (15t) century as Green was the preferred color for wedding attire

The symbolism attached to the color Green continues today even though it has taken on a more modern meaning

The myth per Green M&M’s ® was fueled in the late seventies and early eighties, as rock and roll performers , such as Van Halen, requested bowls of Green M&M’s ® backstage

Adding to this myth, Masterfoods, in 1996, released a commercial asking “Is it true what they say about green ones?”

What about this green man from Laos?

Green Man - Laos on Flickr - Photo Sharing! via kwout

According to the photographer, Kathleen Andersen:

…the Green Man was on the back of a truck cruising the main street of Luang Prabang, in Laos…

The green earrings are birdcages. You buy small birds in these cages and release them to make merit. As I don’t like seeing birds in cages you can imagine how much money I spent releasing birds everywhere I went - owls, parrots, and finches. I made a lot of merit on this trip - and I have pink birdcages I could use as earrings!

I wonder if he was thinking in terms of Celtic myths, the Green Man was the God of Fertily when he painted himself, or if he ate one Green M&Ms too many; come to think about it, he might be in love, Happy Valentine’s Day Lao Voicers.