The
Colors of Christmas
There are several colors which are traditionally
associated with Christmas.
This site uses Red, Green and Gold. But why do we
have them and what do the colors represent?
Most the colors and their meanings come from the
western/northern European traditions and customs, when Christmas is in the
middle of winter and it's dark and cold.
Green
Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have
been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during
the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that
winter wouldn't last forever!
The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during
January as a sign of good luck.
The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches
into their houses during the mid winter festivals.
In many parts of Europe during the middle ages,
Paradise plays were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories
to people who could not read. The 'Paradise Tree' in the Garden of Eden in the
play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.
Now the most common use of green at Christmas are Christmas
Trees.
Red
As mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas
were the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the
plays.
Red is also the color of Holly berries, which is
said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross.
Red is also the color of Bishops robes. These would
have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa’s uniform!
Gold
Gold is the color of the Sun and light - both very
important in the dark winter. And both red and gold are the colors of fire that
you need to keep you warm.
Gold was also one of the presents brought to
the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and traditionally it is the color used to
show the star that the wise men followed.
Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with) gold.
But gold is a 'warmer' color.
White
White is often associated with purity and peace in
western cultures.
The snow of winter is also very white!
White paper wafers were also sometimes used to
decorate paradise trees. The wafers represented the bread eaten during
Christian Communion or Mass, when Christians remember that Jesus died for them.
White is used by most churches as the color of
Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian
Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).
Blue
The color blue is often associated with Mary, the
mother of Jesus.
In medieval times blue dye and paint was more
expensive than gold! So it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich
people.
Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was
very important.
Blue can also represent the color of the sky and
heaven.
During Advent, purple and sometimes blue is used in
most churches for the color of the altar cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church
red is used for Advent).
http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/colors-of-christmas.shtml
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