What is "green man"

n. 1 (context now historical English) A character in British folklore often depicted as a foliate head. (from 16th c.) 2 (context chiefly UK English) A small figure of a walking man illuminated in green on a traffic light at a pedestrian crossing, indicating that it is safe to cross the road. (from 20th c.)

A Green Man Sculpture is a sculpture, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit. Commonly used as a decorative architectural ornament, Green Men are frequently found in carvings on both secular and ecclesiastical buildings. "The Green Man" is also a popular name for English public houses and various interpretations of the name appear on inn signs, which sometimes show a full figure rather than just the head.

The Green Man motif has many variations. Found in many cultures from many ages around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities. It is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.

The Green Man is an ancient symbol of nature.

Green Man or greenman phrase may also refer to:

Green Man is the debut album from English singer-songwriter Mark Owen. The album was released through RCA and BMG on 2 December 1996, weeks after the official split of his former boyband, Take That. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Three singles were released from the album: "Child", "Clementine" and "I Am What I Am". The album peaked at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was re-released in 2003 - with the revised title of Green Man: Revisited - following the success of his second studio album, In Your Own Time which had been released earlier that year. Green Man has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. To date, the album has sold over 1,000,000 copies.

Green Man was written entirely by Mark Owen himself (except for two tracks): "The easiest option for Mark Owen who came out of Take That was to get some other people to write some nice catchy pop tunes, and maybe I could have done that for a couple of years. Then I probably would have been hated by everybody and fell by the wayside. But there wouldn’t have been an album unless I’d written it and it had come from me and I felt like it was my album. That’s all I was interested in."

Unlike the dance-pop music of his former group Take That, Green Man sees Owen develop a sound influenced by Britpop and other forms of alternative rock. Working with alternative rock producer John Leckie, the album has been described as having an "attractive sheen" that "sounds like a cross between Radiohead and the Stone Roses", two bands that Leckie had worked with. The album has also been described as an indie pop album. Owen's former Take That bandmate Robbie Williams would also pursue a Britpop-influenced direction on his debut album Life thru a Lens (1997).

Green Man is the name of two fictional comic book superheroes, both extraterrestrial from the planet Uxor in the Vega star system, one a member of the Omega Men and both members of the Green Lantern Corps. Green Man first appeared in DC Comics' Green Lantern (vol. 2) # 164 (May 1983), and was created by writer Todd Klein and artist Dave Gibbons.

The "Green Man" is a figure associated with the Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI). He appears on the Guild's emblem and was selected from John Bate's 1635 fireworks treatise, "The Second Booke" , to symbolize the long tradition of using fireworks as an essential part of festivals and celebrations - at that time led by so-called "Green Men" appointed to head processions with a "Fire Club" shooting sparks. They were called "Green Men" because they clothed themselves with fresh leaves to protect themselves from sparks produced by their hand-held fireworks. This gave rise to the traditional salutation 'Stay Green' amongst those involved with fireworks.