Starting from Hinduism and Buddhism to religions like Confucianism, the orange colour has a deep-seated place in these religions. The followers of Confucius considered this colour as a colour of transformation. Most of us might guess that the name of this colour has been derived from the orange fruit which is not true. In India and China, the orange colour was named after saffron, which is one of the costliest and the finest dye across the world. The belief system of Confucianism comprises the interaction or the meeting of the male active principle and the female passive principle. The male active principle is known as yang and the female passive principle is known as yin. Nobility and perfection were represented by the yellow colour while power and happiness were represented by the red colour. The interaction of both the colours gave birth to the colour of transformation- orange.

There is a wide range of orange colours ranging from slightly orange red to slightly orange-yellow. One such colour is saffron which is very closely associated with the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. You can see gurus or monks from both religions draped in the angavastram which is generally orange in colour. In Hinduism, you can see Lord Krishna generally dressed in yellow and orange colours. In Buddhism, the colour of the robes worn by the monks signifies the renunciation of worldly pleasures and the commitment and acceptance of order. According to the scriptures and Buddhist commentaries, the dye of the robe that the monks wear is obtained from six different substances namely bark, plants, leaves, roots and tubers, flowers and fruits. Most artisans and followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism and so on like to replicate this colour on the art or craft that they create. It provides them a sense of satisfaction. Using the orange colour becomes one of the ways to pay respect to their religion and culture.