The first ribbons that were represented as meaningful objects in history were the tokens given to knights during the
Middle Ages in Europe. The yellow ribbon came from the
Puritans during the
English Civil War. From there, it spread to the Americas, where the Army of the United States became associated with it. A yellow ribbon was mentioned in a marching song of the military in the United States. In 1917,
George A. Norton copyrighted the song "Round Her Neck She Wears a Yeller Ribbon". In the 1940s the song was rewritten by several musicians. marking a tree. In the early 1970s, the song "
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" was released. Based on this song, Penney Laingen, wife of
Iran hostage Bruce Laingen, was the first who used the
ribbon as an awareness symbol. She tied yellow ribbons around trees to express the desire for her husband’s return. Her friends and family members followed the trend. As many individuals were able to see this message, the "ribbon became a medium." During the
Gulf War, the symbol evolved into a reminder of all men and women serving the country.
Yellow ribbons, in the
United States, are used to show that a close family member is abroad in military service. During the 1979–1981 spate of
child murders in Atlanta, green lapel ribbons began to be worn to show solidarity. They were of a different form than later awareness ribbons, being typically bow-shaped. From 11th to 13th July 1986, the AIDS Faith Alliance, later known as Christian Action on AIDS, held an open conference on AIDS at Essex Unitarian Church in
Notting Hill Gate in London, supported by the
Archbishop of Canterbury and other United Kingdom Christian church leaders.
Rainbow Ribbons were given to everybody attending. The purpose of Christian Action on AIDS, an official
Church of England charity whose founder/chairman was
Barnaby Miln, was to get the worldwide Christian churches involved in the crisis that was AIDS. and colleagues of Christian Action on AIDS. In 1991, the
red ribbon was created by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus, a New York–based group of artists and
AIDS activists. They wished to create a visual symbol to demonstrate compassion for people living with AIDS and their caregivers. The color red was chosen for its "connection to blood and the idea of passion"—both anger and love. During the 1991
Tony Awards, actor
Jeremy Irons wore the bright
red ribbon pinned on his chest. Though the symbolism of the ribbon was not allowed to be discussed on air, the media and public noticed the eye-catching ribbon, and its popularity grew overnight. The red ribbon was purposefully not copyrighted in the United States, to allow it to be worn and used widely as a symbol in the fight against AIDS. The year 1992 was declared by
The New York Times as "The Year of the Ribbon." Today the red ribbon is an internationally recognized symbol of
AIDS awareness and a design icon. It has led the way for many other color ribbons and awareness projects. In
Russia,
Belarus and other countries of the former
Soviet Union,
gold and black striped ribbons are used to celebrate the Allies' victory in
World War II (9 May). In
Spain a yellow ribbon became a symbol of solidarity with the
2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis in provisional detention. The
Unicode character standard has a "reminder ribbon" character (🎗️) at code point U+1F397. No color is officially specified for it, and older platforms
varied in its presentation; it could appear yellow, blue, or red depending on the device or software in which it is viewed. However on all updated major platforms since 2021 it only appears
yellow. On
social media, some users will add visual effects to their user icons as an "
awareness avatar", in a similar way to wearing a physical ribbon. == Purpose and usage ==