by William Sidarweck
“Now my beloved, step down from your chariot, and let not your foot, my lord, touch the Earth.” Clytemnestra (laying out red carpet for her husbands return home).
Long before the Joan Rivers began asking her famous 4 words ‘Who are you wearing’? the red carpet has a long place in history. The Red Carpet is one of the oldest known traditions that we still celebrate today. It has been around over 2400 years and has been used in almost every country in the world.
458 BC – First Red Carpet Reference
Referenced in the Play Agamemnon. The Red Carpet is rolled out as Agamemnon returns home from the Trojan War.
1821 – First Time Rolled Out On US Soil
For James Monroe, 5th President of the US, welcoming him to South Carolina the Red Carpet was rolled out to the Waccamaw River.
1902 – Term of Red Carpet Treatment Introduced
The term was reference by the NY Railroad when passengers boarded the train from a Red Carpet.
1922 – First in Hollywood
Sid Grauman rolled out the Red Carpet at the Grand Opening of the Egyptian Theater for the Robin Hood Premiere
Next time you are walking, posing and smiling on a Step and Repeat and Red Carpet for your birthday, charity event and/or awards show, remember that you are carrying on a tradition started by the ancient Greeks.
