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Colors of the Church Year
Colors
Since fabrics, such as banners and vestments,
have to be some color or the other, the historic Church has
taken advantage of this fact and has used color to set the
theme of worship. Color usage was more diverse in the past,
mainly because dyes were expensive and it wasn’t as easy as
it is today to get fabric in any color. In modern times,
we’ve developed the following general consensus:
Green
You
might say that green is the default color. Green is the color of
vegetation, therefore it is the color of life. Green is the color
for the
Season of
Epiphany
and the
Season After Pentecost. These two seasons are also called
‘Ordinary Time’ because the Sundays have no names, just ordinal
numbers.
Purple
In
antiquity, purple dye was very expensive, so purple came to signify
wealth, power, and royalty. Therefore purple is the color for the
seasons of
Advent and
Lent, which celebrate the coming of the King. Since as
Christians we prepare for our King through reflection and
repentance, purple has also become a penitential color.
White
Angels
announced Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8-15) and His Resurrection
(Luke 24:1-8). The New Testament consistently uses white to describe
angels and the risen Lord (see Matthew 17:2 and 28:3, Mark 9:3 and
16:5, John 20:12, Acts 1:10, and throughout Revelation.) In the
ancient Church, people were given white robes as soon as they
emerged from the waters of baptism. Therefore, white is the color
for the seasons of
Easter and
Christmas. White is the color for funerals, since it is the
color of the Resurrection, for weddings, regardless of the season,
and for secular holidays that are observed in the church.
Red
Red is
the color of blood, and therefore also of martyrdom. Red is the
color for any service that commemorates the death of a martyr. It is
also an alternative color for the last week of Lent, which is called
Holy Week. Red is the color for
Pentecost
Sunday and for ordinations, because it is the
color of fire and therefore also of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:3).
Black
Before
the advent of modern dyes, all dress clothes were black—just look at
any photograph taken in the 19th century. The main historical
connotation of black is formality. Because we don’t wear black as
often today, it has survived as a formal color only at extremely
solemn occasions, such as funerals. For some people today, black
immediately connotes a funeral. Black is sometimes, but rarely, the
color for funeral services or Good Friday.
Rose
Rose
is sometimes used on the third Sunday in Advent, to signify joy.
Gold
Gold
is an alternative to white.
Blue
Blue
is an alternative to purple during Advent. Blue represents the
Virgin Mary, because she is known as the Queen of Heaven and the sky
is blue. Some churches just use blue during Advent to avoid the
penitential connotation of purple.
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