Same here but mostly brown hair except red in the beard. I suspect it's not limited to red haired folks but that the gene occurs in people with relatively northern ancestors (Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia).
IIRC there were lots of red haired people in the continental Celtic population too. Would they have the same adaptation for less need of sunlight?
I read somewhere that white skin may have evolved to help supplement the vitamin D required in Europe because the prevailing crops (cereal, grains) lacked vitamin D.
EDIT yeah here is the reference [1]:
> In the food-production theory, the cereal-rich diet of Neolithic farmers lacked vitamin D, so Europeans rapidly lost their dark-skin pigmentation only once they switched to agriculture, because it was only at that point that they had to synthesize vitamin D from the sun more readily.
My ancestors are all Scottish or Celtic going back as far as the point where people didn't move around much.
I've heard red-beards often referred to politely as gingerchins. Which is oddly fun to say.
Having worked for Scandinavian insurance companies, I can tell you that life insurance near to the arctic circle is much higher as people find it hard living without lots of light.
