Monday, December 10

The best colors for Christmas

It is officially 15 days until Christmas, which is celebrated worldwide. Are all your decorations ready? Are you set for a Christmas party, and what are we having this Christmas?

Talking about the colors of Christmas, there are several colors that are traditionally associated with Christmas. Red, green, and gold are the most popularly accepted colors, but why do we have them and what do the colors represent?

Most of the colors and their meanings come from western and northern European traditions and customs. 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 in 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 couldn't read. The 'Paradise Tree' in the garden of Eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.

Red: As mentioned above, the early use of red at Christmas was the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays.

Red is also the color of holly berries, which are said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross.

Red is also the color of bishop's robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!

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's 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 is often associated with purity and peace in western cultures. The snow in 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).

The color blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint were 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.

Purple: During Advent, purple and sometimes blue are used in most churches for the color of the altar cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church red is used for advent).

What is your favorite Christmas color?