Seasons of the Church Year
Why are there different colors in the front of the church?
Long before the world was literate, it was the seasons of the year that was the visual calendar for people. While the world is more literate now, we still mark time with decorations, colors, changing of temperature and sunlight to help us mark the beginning and end of time. Our scripture tells us that Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. We honor this tradition through the celebrate of the seasons of the church year.
Each church year begins with Advent:
Advent (Blue): The season of advent lifts up the anticipation of the coming of the light into the world amidst great despair and darkness. The color to mark this season is blue to represent the color of the sky when the first ray of light touches the night sky creating a deep blue.
Christmas (White): Christmas is a season in which we celebrate the light (Christ) overcoming the darkness and God sending the greatest gift to us, his son.
Epiphany and season after Epiphany (Green): This season of light celebrates the star in the sky that the wisemen followed that stopped over the home of Jesus. Green marks a season of growing as we hear stories of Christ’s childhood and early years of ministry.
Lent (Purple): This a penitential season, meaning a time where we focus inward upon our own hearts and faith. It is a time to repent and seek forgiveness. Purple is used to symbolize the pain and suffering leading up to the Crucifixion of Christ and is also the color of royalty, which reminds us of Jesus’ resurrection and being the risen king come Easter morning.
Triduum – the Great Three Days consist of the days of holy week including Maundy Thursday (black, representing death), Good Friday (empty spaces) and Holy Saturday (empty spaces leading to the Easter proclamation of white.)
Easter (White/Gold): Using white and gold during the season of Easter symbolizes purity, grace, resurrection and new life. This is a period of rejoicing and celebration.
Pentecost (Red): Pentecost is the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit through the tongues of fire. The fire of the Holy Spirit that burns within us and others is symbolized through the color red.
Time after Pentecost (Green): In this time after Pentecost, we symbolize with the color green, for growing. It is during this season that our faith is challenged to grow through the preaching and teaching of Christ during his adult ministry.
While the church seasons as listed above, there are other specialty days of celebration and the marking off time that are lifted up each year but are not an entire season. Often they also make a transition between two seasons. Some of these special days include: Transfiguration of our Lord, Ascension, Reformation Sunday, All Saints Sunday, and Reign of Christ Sunday.
