The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon worn by the French knightly Order of the Holy Spirit. The spelling blue riband is still encountered in most English-speaking countries, but in the United States, the term was altered to blue ribbon, and ribbons of this color came to be awarded for first place in certain athletic or other competitive endeavours (such as county and state fairs). It also may be applied to distinguished members of a group or commission who have convened to address a situation or problem; the usual usage is "blue ribbon commission" or "blue-ribbon panel".

Fair competitions

A blue ribbon won at a convention.

In some fair competitions in the U.S., particularly 4-H and FFA livestock and horticultural events, blue ribbons may be awarded to any project or exhibit which meets or exceeds all of a competition's judging criteria. In Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain, blue ribbons are awarded to second place, with red ribbons awarded to first.

The project may not necessarily be the first-place finisher, however. In such cases, a purple ribbon may be given to the champion and second-place (or reserve) champion.

Usage as an awareness or activism ribbon

Blue ribbons have been used as awareness ribbons for numerous different causes. Notable examples:

Other uses

  • The Norwegian Cancer Society (NCS) has a blue ribbon campaign each November, in order to raise awareness about prostate cancer.
  • The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a blue ribbon campaign for free speech.
  • Blue ribbons for boys (and pink for girls) were used from the mid-19th century on christening gowns in Paris,[21][22] and to a limited extent in the United States.[23][24][25] In St. Petersburg (Russia) ribbons of the same color scheme were used on white funeral shrouds for children.[26]
  • In Australia and New Zealand, safe seats are sometimes described as "blue-ribbon seats".[27][28] Safe seats for the two countries' major centre-left parties (the Australian Labor Party and the New Zealand Labour Party) were in a single instance referred to by a prominent daily newspaper as "red-ribbon seats", however this is not a legitimate point of reference, as seats where any political interest holds as strong majority have for many decades, commonly been called blue ribbon seats.

In Australia, blue ribbon is also a term referring to shares of any company on the stock exchange deemed to be secure investment. [29]

Companies and products

  • The Italian Peroni Brewery has a beer "Nastro Azzurro" referring to the Blue Riband held by the Italian SS Rex from 1933 to 1935.
  • Beginning in the 1940s, Warner Bros., in a cost-conserving effort, began to reissue its backlog of color cartoons under a new program which they called Merrie Melodies "Blue Ribbon" reissues. For the reissue, the original front-and-end title sequences were altered.
  • Blue Ribbon Barbecue is a chain of two restaurants and a catering service in the Boston suburbs.
  • Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, which got its name from originally having a blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle (between 1882 and 1916).
  • Blue Ribbon is a brand of ice cream sold in Australia and owned by Unilever.[30]
  • Blue Ribbon Dive Resort is a 5 Star PADI dive resort in Mabini, Anilao in the Philippines[31]

See also

References

  1. "EFF's Blue Ribbon Campaign". Eff.org. 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  2. Bell, D (2010-05-01). "Blue Ribbon Campaign for ME/CFS". www.blueribboncampaignforme.org. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
  3. "Bold Blue Day". Archived from the original on 2012-04-01.
  4. "I Love Clean Air Blue Ribbon in Japan". Ilcabr.fc2web.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  5. Archived March 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Blue Ribbon Contest in Capital Health Archived 2010-11-26 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "10 food centres awarded Blue Ribbon for going smoke-free". Channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  8. Gesto por la Paz y el lazo azul
    Jose María Calleja, El lazo azul
  9. Uzi Benziman, Where Are the Blue Ribbons?, Haaretz (June 15, 2005).
  10. Thousands protest Israel’s Gaza withdrawal: 'Ribbon brigade' activists show true colors by wearing orange, blue, Associated Press (June 27, 2005).
  11. "Campaigns Involving Private Citizens / Abductions of Japanese Citizens by North Korea". Rachi.go.jp. 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  12. Sridhar Pappu: At World Bank, Blue Ribbons Became Attire Of Their Ire. The Washington Post, May 18, 2007, Page C01
  13. "Organization's website" (in Swedish). Blabandet.se. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  14. "Colon Cancer Alliance". Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  15. "Ovarian Cancer Research Fund". Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  16. "Choose Hope". Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  17. "About the Blue "P" Ribbon". www.parkinson.org. Archived from the original on 2013-03-09. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
  18. "OUR NATIONAL PROJECT: PREVENT CHILD ABUSE". Archived from the original on 2010-08-20.
  19. "Penn State to add names to back of football jerseys". Philly.com. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  20. South China Morning Post – DAY SEVEN: Full coverage (10 am)
  21. La Mode illustrée: journal de la famille. Firmin-Didot frère, fils et cie. 1868. p. 122. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  22. La Mode illustrée: journal de la famille. Paris: Firmin-Didot frère, fils et cie. 1869. p. 385. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  23. Peterson's Magazine. C.J. Peterson. 1856. p. 261. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  24. Alden, Henry Mills; Allen, Frederick Lewis; Hartman, Lee Foster (1862). Harper's Magazine. Harper's Magazine Company. p. 720. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  25. Harper's Bazaar. Vol. 20. New York: Hearst Corporation. 1887. p. 874. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  26. The Hawaiian Monthly. 1884. p. 143. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  27. "Glossary". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  28. Representatives, New Zealand Parliament House of (1970). Parliamentary Debates. p. 3786.
  29. Tomazin, Farrah (2013-07-13). "Still too many red ribbon seats for the boys". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  30. "Blue Ribbon". Streets. Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
  31. "Blue Ribbon Divers". Blue Ribbon Dive Resort.
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