The colors of Advent

 The liturgical colors that churches employ in the observance of Advent have become a point of contention in recent times.  Through the history of the church violet (or purple) has been a traditional color for the season.  In times when the church emphasized self-denial, fasting or penitence (as Advent was seen as a reflection of Lent, preparing for Christmas as Lent prepares for Easter in the theologies of the day) black was employed.  There is a long history of the use of blue in Advent, although the widespread display of this color waxed and waned through the centuries.  Blue is a color associated with Mary the Mother of Jesus in church iconography.  It is a representation of hope in the color palate of Christian symbolism.  The use of blue is enjoying a resurgence in recent years.  This is due in part to the re-defining of some Advent theologies by the Second Vatican Council in 1963.  Communions outside the Catholic community have adapted the Roman position and have embraced much of the current Advent thinking of Catholicism.  So, the fabric hangings that adorn our communion tables, lecterns and pulpits are blue in more and more churches.  Likewise, the stoles and other vestments that clergy wear during worship are more frequently blue in contemporary settings.

The color of candles in Advent wreathes is far from consistent.  Different geographical settings have (as might be expected) their own practices.  Northern European influence often results in candles that are all red on the outer ring of the wreath.  Many congregations that have recently established traditions use three violet (purple) candles and one rose candle (that is frequently misidentified as “pink.”)  Those not familiar with traditional church practices will often light the three violet candles on the first three Sundays of the season, and then light the fourth – rose – candle as a kind of “transitional” color between the solemn hues of violet and the joyful colors that we associate with Christmas.

In fact, the tradition of the rose candle is that it is lighted on the third Sunday of Advent.  You have to stay with me here: the lighting of the rose color on that day goes back to the time when Advent was thought to mirror Lent.  The third Sunday in Lent is Gaudete Sunday (GAW-di-tay).  It is a Latin term that we translate “rejoice.”  It is the initial word in the Catholic liturgy for that day.  On this occasion in medieval Catholicism, the Pope would give a golden rose to the favorites in his court.  So, on the third Sunday of Lent, the gift of a rose gave rise to the use of rose-colored fabrics in worship on that day as a kind of break in the solemnity of Lent.  As Lent influenced the observance of Advent, the rose color came to be associated with the third Sunday   of Advent.  Thus, the contemporary appearance of a rose candle in our Advent wreathes.   As this rationale has come to be rejected, a fourth violet candle frequently replaces the rose candle. 

Other wreathes use four blue candles, employing the imagery of that color that is also used in paraments and vestments.  The use of three blue and one rose candle has nothing historically or theologically to recommend it.