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Bravo_6
Guest
Are the colours of the vestments seasonal?And what does each colour symbolize?
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929dad
Guest
They are seasonal, but perhaps not in the way you’re thinking.
Green is the color for ordinary time. There are two seasons of ordinary time, between the Baptism of the Lord and Lent and from after Corpus Christi to the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.
Red is the color for martyrs, evangelists and The Holy Spirit, and Good Friday.
White is the color for Feast days, weddings and can be the color for funerals.
Violet is the color for Advent and Lent with the exception of Laetare and Gaudate Sundays, which is Rose. It is also an option for funerals, I think.
Black is also an option for funerals and might be an option for Good Friday, I’m not sure.
Gold is the color for Easter, but you might see white instead.
Hope I got this right (I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I didn’t), and that it helps.
Green is the color for ordinary time. There are two seasons of ordinary time, between the Baptism of the Lord and Lent and from after Corpus Christi to the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.
Red is the color for martyrs, evangelists and The Holy Spirit, and Good Friday.
White is the color for Feast days, weddings and can be the color for funerals.
Violet is the color for Advent and Lent with the exception of Laetare and Gaudate Sundays, which is Rose. It is also an option for funerals, I think.
Black is also an option for funerals and might be an option for Good Friday, I’m not sure.
Gold is the color for Easter, but you might see white instead.
Hope I got this right (I’m sure I’ll be corrected if I didn’t), and that it helps.
C
Corki
Guest
Pretty good. White is actually the color for Easter, Christmas (the whole seasons) and lots of major feasts. Gold is not a liturgical color but often the white vestments have lots of gold trim.
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Phemie
Guest
From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) adapted for the US.
- As to the color of sacred vestments, the traditional usage is to be retained: namely,
*] White is used in the Offices and Masses during the Easter and Christmas seasons; also on celebrations of the Lord other than of his Passion, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of the Holy Angels, and of Saints who were not Martyrs; on the Solemnities of All Saints (November 1) and of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24); and on the Feasts of St. John the Evangelist (December 27), of the Chair of St. Peter (February 22), and of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25).
*] Red is used on Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion and on Good Friday, on Pentecost Sunday, on celebrations of the Lord’s Passion, on the feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists, and on celebrations of Martyr Saints.
*] Green is used in the Offices and Masses of Ordinary Time.
*] Violet or purple is used in Advent and Lent. It may also be worn in Offices and Masses for the Dead (cf. below).
*] Besides violet, white or black vestments may be worn at funeral services and at other Offices and Masses for the Dead in the dioceses of the United States of America.
*] Rose may be used, where it is the practice, on Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) and on Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent).
*] On more solemn days, sacred vestments may be used that are festive, that is, more precious, even if not of the color of the day.
*] Gold- or silver-colored vestments may be worn on more solemn occasions in the dioceses of the United States of America.
Same document adapted for Canada:- As regards the colour of sacred vestments, traditional usage should be observed, namely:
*] The colour white is used in the Offices and Masses during Easter Time and Christmas Time; on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, and furthermore on celebrations of the Lord other than of his Passion, celebrations of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of the Holy Angels, and of Saints who were not Martyrs; on the Solemnities of All Saints (1 November) and of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (24 June); and on the Feasts of St. John the Evangelist (27 December), of the Chair of St. Peter (22 February), and of the Conversion of St. Paul (25 January). The colour white may also be worn in funerals and in Offices and Masses for the Dead in the dioceses of Canada.
*] The colour red is used on Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion and on Friday of Holy Week, on Pentecost Sunday, on celebrations of the Lord’s Passion, on the “birthday” feastdays of Apostles and Evangelists, and on celebrations of Martyr Saints.
*] The colour green is used in the Offices and Masses of Ordinary Time.
*] The colour violet or purple is used in Advent and Lent. It may also be worn in Offices and Masses for the Dead.
*] The colour black may be used, where it is the practice, in Masses for the Dead.
*] The colour rose may be used, where it is the practice, on Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) and on Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent).
*] On more solemn days, festive, that is, more precious, sacred vestments may be used even if not of the colour of the day.
M
mburn16
Guest
I believe silver can also be used in place of White…and that a light blue color is permitted (at least in some places) for feasts of the Virgin Mary. Some churches maintain two separate colors in the “purple” category, with a with a more blueish version used for Advent.
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Phemie
Guest
I think it’s Spain that has permission for blue for certain Marian feasts but blue is forbidden in Canada and I think the US also.
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Corki
Guest
Yes, blue is forbidden in the US. However, a bluer shade of violet is sometimes used for Advent to differentiate it from the purple used in Lent.
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robertericleech
Guest
One poster mentioned two days on which pink may be worn…Laetare Sunday and Gaudete Sunday. Although don’t call it pink to your priest…they like to call it ‘rose.’ (Yeah, a PINK rose, haha)
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