Why is the cross draped in purple during Lent?
Lent, Passion, and Easter are the only times the cross is draped in the liturgical year. This is to remind us of emotionally charged redemptive purpose of the suffering (purple), crucifixion and death (black), and resurrection (white) of Jesus, which these liturgical seasons commemorate.
Why does lent begin with ashes?
The first day of Lent is always Ash Wednesday, in which we use ashes on our forehead in the shape of a cross to remember our own mortality and begin our journey of penance. The practice of putting on ashes dates back to the Old Testament, and Catholics still carry it on to this day.
What are the liturgical colors for Lent?
What are the Colours and symbols of Lent? Violet (deep purple): Violet is the liturgical color of the season and symbolizes its repentant character, as well as Christ as the King of the world. (Deep purple was a color reserved for royalty in Jesus’ time.)
Is lent a Christian?
Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan. This season is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian ...
What does purple mean in Lent?
From this, we see three meanings of purple in Lent: the royalty of Christ, His passion and death for our sins, and the coming of spring. That’s quite a bit to think about this year with your church and clergy draped in purple!
Why do people wear purple during Lent?
This robe belonged to Herod, and it was the most expensive color available in the Roman Empire. People who wore purple were generally royalty because they were the only ones who could afford it. Since Jesus is the King of Kings, the mocking gesture of dressing Him in a purple robe was actually indicative of His royal dignity. Perhaps it’s worth mentioning that on His cross, Jesus had a sign that called Him the “King of the Jews.” Thus, the association of purple with royalty is critical to our liturgical use of it during Lent.
What does purple symbolize?
On a closely related note, purple has become a symbol of the offense surrounding our sins. Just like Jesus was mocked about being royal, we necessitated this suffering through our sins. Purple is a sort of sorrowful color, for this reason, a connotation it’s acquired through the association with the Passion. When we look at the purple vestments and church decorations, we are called upon to remember what was done for us.
When was Lent first mentioned?
Lent itself has a long history. Technically, the first major mention of the season is from the Council of Nicaea in the 4 th century. This was a significant part of Christian history because the Emperor Constantine had just legalized Christianity a few years before. Now that Christians were no longer persecuted, they were able to make more formal doctrinal rules and regulate Christian practice. And in 380, the form of Christianity approved at Nicaea became the official religion of the Roman Empire.
How many purples are there in the liturgical year?
Yes, there are two purples used in the liturgical year: one for Advent and one for Lent. And they are quite different.
What color is liturgical green?
Liturgical green is green — even if there are various shades. Likewise, red is red and white is white. However, purple (referred to as “violet” in liturgical publications) is another color entirely.
What is liturgical color?
Liturgical colors are those we see on vestments at Mass. The color represents the season of the liturgical year. For example, in Ordinary Time, the priest wears green vestments — as do the deacon (stole and dalmatic) and altar servers (the cord tying their albs). The season is also reflected in church decorations. So you may see banners of the same color and the ambo draped in it. Even the altar cloth can reflect the liturgical color. These are white, green, red and purple.
Why were the colors of the vestments not important?
When the church began to develop the structure of liturgy, the color of vestments was not important. For the first centuries, there were no particular colors used for the Mass. White was the color of the baptized. Then, in the Middle Ages, use of liturgical colors developed and certain colors were chosen because they were favored by knights and nobles.
Why is Lent red?
To remember why red is in the purple of Lent, think about the color of Palm Sun day and Good Friday. Red vestments symbolize blood. It is interesting here to note that the purple color worn by bishops and archbishops is called “amaranth red.” It is a blend of red, purple and scarlet. It serves to remind bishops that they are shepherds, charged by Christ to protect their flocks “even to the shedding of their own blood.”
What is the blue hour in Advent?
Another way to remember Advent’s purple is “the blue hour.” Each day has two times when purple drapes the sky: at twilight, just before sunrise and after sunset. Twilight is known as “the blue hour” by artists and photographers because of the softness of light and prominence of blue tones.
What is the color of Lent?
The Latin purpura refers both to purple dye and the shellfish used to make that dye. It is a reddish-purple in hue and this is the color that became the purple of Lent.
What was the first color of vestments?
Although a separate subject from this article, it is well to remember that it was only towards the end of the 1st Millenium that the question of vestment colour became a significant one. Black was designated for penitential and funeral liturgies, but violaceus was indicated as a substitute for black. Pope Innocent’s treatise De sacro altaris mysterio (Book I, chapter 65, which was written before his election as pope in 1198) seems to be the first indication that violaceus had come to be regarded as a penitential colour for the Roman Rite. - The Liturgical Colour violaceus in the Roman Rite
What is the purple symbol?
Purple was a status symbol. In Ancient Rome its use was limited to Emperors, and to a lesser extent, senators, so Tyrian purple also became known as Imperial Purple. - The Liturgical Colour "violaceus" in the Roman Rite.
What does the color purple mean in the Roman Rite?
The word violaceus used in the ceremonial books of the Roman Rite indicates the colour purple (reddish hues) or violet (bluish hues): the Church does not define the shade violaceus as it applies to sacred vestments. But the Church does define the shade violaceus for the robes of its prelates. Both the reddish purple and the bluish “purple” are colours that have been traditionally used for sacred vestments in the Roman Rite since at least the 12th century. - The Liturgical Colour violaceus in the Roman Rite
Why did they put purple on Jesus?
It's actually kind of a contradiction. Which isn't surprising as Christ was a sign which would be contradicted (see Luke 2:34). Purple is a kingly color, which is why they put it on Jesus to mock Him. Purple is also, or has become, the penitential color for the Church, it is also the color worn and used to decorate churches during Advent.
What is the correct color for Lent?
Liturgically speaking purple (purpura)is the correct term to be use in describing the color for clothing for catholic prelates and violet (violaceus) as the color associated with Lent.
What was the only liturgical color in the fourth century?
Benedict XIV (De Sacro Sacrificio Missæ I, VIII, n. 16) says that up to the fourth century white was the only liturgical colour in use. Other colours were introduced soon afterwards. - Catholic Encyclopedia
What color is used for Lent?
Liturgically speaking violet is the true colour used for Lent and Advent, although many prefer use the word purple.
Why Purple During Advent?
Which brings us to a common question: Why does Advent share the color purple with Lent? As a reader once wrote to me:
Why is Gaudete Sunday called Gaudete Sunday?
The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday because " Gaudete " ("Rejoice") is the first word of the entrance antiphon at Mass that Sunday.
What are the colors of vestments?
The most common color for vestments is green, because green, which symbolizes hope, is used during Ordinary Time, the longest season of the liturgical year. White and gold are used during the Easter and Christmas seasons, to symbolize joy and purity; red, on Pentecost and for celebrations of the Holy Spirit, but also for the feasts of martyrs and any commemoration of Christ's Passion; and purple, during Advent and Lent .
What is the color of penance?
Purple is the color of penance, preparation, and sacrifice—three things that, alas, too often fall by the wayside during Advent these days, since Advent roughly corresponds to the secular "holiday season" that extends, in the United States, from Thanksgiving Day until Christmas Day.
What colors are used in the Easter season?
White and gold are used during the Easter and Christmas seasons, to symbolize joy and purity; red, on Pentecost and for celebrations of the Holy Spirit, but also for the feasts of martyrs and any commemoration of Christ's Passion; and purple, during Advent and Lent .
Is the Gloria sung during Advent?
But historically, Advent was indeed a time of penance, preparation, and sacrifice, and the season was known as a "little Lent." That's why the penitential color of purple makes an appearance during Advent, the organ is muted, and the Gloria—one of the most festive hymns of the Mass —isn't sung. During Advent, our thoughts, even on Sunday, are supposed to be on preparing ourselves for the coming of Christ, both at Christmas and at the Second Coming.
