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For many years in the Legends EU, Leia used an old hand-me-down lightsaber - a blue one. However, she rarely used it and also neglected her training as a Jedi, long fearing that either her or her children would repeat the mistakes of Darth Vader,

her father (and the grandfather of her children).

However, a third of the way into the novel "Ambush at Corellia", Luke gives her a new lightsaber - one that he built from scratch just for her. The lightsaber is described as smaller than her previous one - fitting her hand much better - and having a red blade.

Knowing Leia's fears of the dark side and the Sith... why did Luke give her a RED lightsaber of all things? And did she ever change the color of her lightsaber?

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    That was the only colour that accesorised well.
    – CandiedMango
    Oct 21, 2015 at 21:55
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    A red lightsabre is the cool version of lipstick! Just what every girl's always wanted.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Oct 21, 2015 at 22:01
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    "..repeat the mistakes of Darth Vader," You really think the information that follows that requires spoiler formatting? The movie where that info. was revealed premiered 35 years ago!
    – Andrew Thompson
    Oct 21, 2015 at 22:24
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    I was just about to watch the DVD tonight, and you ruined it!
    – Oldcat
    Oct 22, 2015 at 0:02
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    @AndrewThompson - better safe than sorry.
    – Omegacron
    Oct 22, 2015 at 13:26

2 Answers 2

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I'm sure that in 2015 there's lightsaber crystals available at every corner drug store, but a long time ago they were a little hard to come by.

Lightsaber color used to usually mean something. These days it's left entirely up to personal preference (in and out of universe). Gathering the crystals to create a lightsaber is the hard part. If you have them, you might as well just build a new one. AFAIK, she still has both lightsabers and (I hope) we'll learn very soon which one she prefers, in episode seven.

Creating a Meaning for Lightsaber Colors –scifi.about.com

Even within the Star Wars universe, the meaning of lightsaber colors is not always certain. Jedi vs. Sith: The Complete Guide to the Force, for example, states that the idea of lightsaber colors reflecting their wielders' personalities is a "popular notion," but incorrect. Rather, lightsaber colors depend on the type of crystals used to create the blade.

According to The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force, lightsaber colors originally indicated a Jedi's role in the Order. For example, Jedi Consulars, who focused on non-violence, carried green lightsabers to symbolize peace. Jedi Guardians, on the other hand, carried blue lightsabers as a symbol of uniformity and solidarity. These symbolic colors began around 4,000 BBY. By 1,032 BBY, lightsaber colors were still associated with different types of Jedi, but were neither required nor exclusive. Kerra Holt in Knight Errant, for example, wields a green lightsaber despite having no association with the Jedi Consulars.

The in-universe explanation for the lack of lightsaber color variation in the movies is a lack of colored crystals. According to Jedi vs. Sith, the Empire quarantined or destroyed many sources of lightsaber crystals. This left the Jedi with mostly Ilum crystals, which can only produce green or blue blades. This explains neither the dearth of colors in the Prequels nor the unusual lightsaber colors in the Expanded Universe during the time of the Empire, but it's likely the best explanation fans will get.

After reading, What is the reason that lightsabers have different colors? I can only surmise that Leia's is a natural crystal (which would make it completely okay in my book) and not a synthetic crystal.

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    There is nothing wrong with a synthetic crystal, Luke's green lightsaber uses a synthetic crystal.
    – Theik
    Oct 22, 2015 at 7:06
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    "(I hope) we'll learn very soon which one she prefers, in episode seven." Umm, about that....
    – Ellesedil
    Feb 10, 2016 at 23:38
  • voted just for the bttf reference.
    – Joel Coehoorn
    Dec 19, 2017 at 14:43
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Red Crystals are synthetic there is no way to find them naturally, and part of becoming a Jedi is constructing a light saber the big part of that was finding the crystal on Ilum which is a personal journey and can't be made for you the Ilum caves test you with the force. If Luke made this light saber for Leia then his only option for a crystal would be the synthetic red crystal since he couldn't take Leia's crystal journey for her so a natural Crystal was out.

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    Synthetic crystals aren't automatically red. Luke's green lightsaber from RotJ used a synthetic crystal - one that he made himself.
    – Omegacron
    Jan 11, 2016 at 15:13

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