“Faith Facts” is a series of short write-ups (approximately 350 words) that can be used in church bulletins or as brief explainers during Christian worship. This write-up is adapted from “A Guide to Liturgical Colors (with HEX Codes).”
Download: Bulletin insert (5.5″x8.5″).
Faith Facts
The colors in Christian worship are deeply symbolic.
God created color and instructed which colors were to be used in Old Testament worship (e.g., purple in the tabernacle curtains). Colors are mentioned throughout the Bible and given symbolic significance. The Church has followed God’s example by using color to symbolically reinforce the truths of the gospel and draw the senses of the faithful into the moods of the Christian year, from repentance to rejoicing. Four main colors show up in the Church’s clothing, communion table decorations, banners, and artwork: (1) purple, (2) white, (3) green, and (4) red.
1. Purple/violet is the color of royalty and penitence. It is used during Advent to signify the coming of the Davidic King. It is also used during Lent to signify penitence and point to Christ’s suffering (Mark 15:17). Pink/rose are used during purple seasons to symbolize joy even in times of waiting and penitence.
2. White is the color of purity, radiance, and resurrection. It is used during Christmas to point to Christ as the spotless sacrificial Lamb and incarnate Son of God. It is used during Easter to point to the perfection and radiance of the risen Lord (Rev. 1:14). It is also used on feasts of Christ such as the Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, the Transfiguration, and Christ the King Day, as well as on All Saints’ Day and the feasts days of saints who were not martyrs. The color gold is often used with white as a symbol of glory.
3. Red is the color of fire and blood. It is used on Pentecost as a sign of the Spirit’s fiery descent (Acts 2:3), during Holy Week as a sign of Christ’s passion, and on the saint days of martyrs of the Church.
4. Green is the color of life and growth. It is used during the seasons of ordinary time after Epiphany and Pentecost to signify the life and growth that comes in the Church as a result of Christ’s coming and the Spirit’s descent.
