Concept in Definition ABC

Keep Calm means in English keep calm. However, this translation does not express its true meaning, since in reality it is a message with a double dimension: a icon of the globalized world and a slogan related to World War II.

World culture icon

We have most likely seen t-shirts, posters or wallpapers in which a crown appears and underneath the words Keep Calm followed by a complementary message (and go shopping, and love, and study hard, and relax and many others). These messages are part of merchandising and advertising and they have become a planetary phenomenon.

The true story of the icon

When World War II started the government Britain was worried about a possible Nazi invasion that, fortunately, never happened. With the intention of encouraging the population Faced with the anguish and suffering of war, the government launched a advertising campaign with posters across the country with the following message: Keep Calm and Carry on.

The message incorporated the symbol of the British crown at the top, had a red background and white letters. Thus, the

poster it conveyed the need to maintain a calm posture in the face of adversity. It must be remembered that in times of war, this type of message addressed to the population is quite common (the famous "They will not pass" that was used by the French army in World War I and in the defense of the city of Madrid during the war civil Spanish).

When World War II ended the Keep Calm poster lost its meaning and was completely forgotten. However, many years later a bookseller in northeast England found an old sign and put it in the entrance of his bookstore with a decorative intention, since it was an original piece and aroused the curiosity of the customers. In 2005 the British newspaper "The Guardian" published a story about the poster displayed in the bookstore and its historical origin. From this publication the Keep Calm message began to spread throughout the planet.

As a curiosity, it is worth remembering that the bookstore that the Keep Calm has popularized is called "Barter Books" and is located in the small English town of Alnwick. This business is an old train station and for this reason there is an electric train in functioning inside the bookstore and that serves to entertain the visit of customers.

Photos: iStock - Andrei_F / stockvisual

Themes in Keep Calm