| Umbrellas are everywhere. We carry them when it | | | | Umbrellas, or parasols, were status symbols, and, in |
| rains, we have patio umbrellas over our picnic tables, | | | | early art, they are often situated over a king's throne, |
| we take beach umbrellas to the shore, and we stand | | | | bed, and funeral urn. Less important than its size was |
| under market umbrellas at outdoor kiosks and street | | | | the number of tiers that a king's umbrella had. The |
| vendors' carts; but this wasn't always the case. | | | | Emperor of China, for example, had a four-tiered |
| Centuries ago, when umbrellas first made the scene, | | | | parasol, while the King of Siam had one with nine tiers, |
| no ordinary person could even dream of owning one. | | | | each featuring elaborate tassels. In fact, he was once |
| Back then, they were among the most significant | | | | described as the "Lord of the twenty-four parasols." |
| indications of royalty, and were prohibited for use by | | | | The Greeks customarily held umbrellas over statues |
| anyone but members of nobility. | | | | of Dionysus at festivals; and, eventually, women began |
| While nobody can pinpoint the exact date or place | | | | holding them over statues of goddesses, such as |
| when the very first one was made, historians agree | | | | Athena, at feasts that were held in their honor. It is |
| that umbrellas, or parasols, have existed for thousands | | | | believed that this is what popularized the parasol as a |
| of years. There is evidence of their use in the courts | | | | fashion accessory. |
| of China and Egypt, between 1100 and 1200 b.c., as | | | | During the Middle Ages, an umbrella became a part of |
| well as Greece and Rome, where early forms of the | | | | the Pope's ceremonial regalia. However, it wasn't |
| patio umbrella were used for shade. Umbrellas have | | | | widely used across Europe until the 12th century, when |
| also been found depicted in the art and artifacts of | | | | Pope Alexander III granted the Doge of Venice the |
| ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and China. | | | | right to have a parasol carried over him. |
| The word, umbrella, is based on the Latin, umbra, | | | | Not surprisingly, the umbrella became a must in |
| meaning shade. Its diminutive form, umbella, was | | | | England, where the weather is famously damp; and |
| modified, to ombrella, in Italy, where it is first known to | | | | that's where the first market umbrellas were used, in |
| have been used, in 1611. The word, parasol, from the | | | | 1685, to shelter customers of coffee houses. Then, in |
| Old Italian, parare, which means, to shield or ward off, | | | | 1830, the first umbrella shop opened in London, where it |
| and sole, meaning sun, was originally used in 1660. | | | | is still in business. |
| Initially, umbrellas were used strictly for protection from | | | | Indeed, once off-limits to common folk, the umbrella |
| the sun. In Egypt, fair skin was considered a sign of | | | | has become one of the most common items in |
| nobility, and umbrellas were carried over the members | | | | existence. At the same time, its value has not been |
| of royalty to ensure that their skin would not tan. It is | | | | diminished in the slightest; in fact, it's more important |
| believed that a Roman woman was the first to oil the | | | | than ever. For one thing, we now know how crucial it |
| cloth canopies of umbrellas, in order to weatherproof | | | | is to safeguard our skin from the sun's damaging rays; |
| them; but it is also known that the Chinese waxed and | | | | and, these days, patio umbrellas can offer up to 100% |
| lacquered their paper parasols so that they could use | | | | UV protection. |
| them in the rain. | | | | |