06/09/2026
What’s the deal with different colored cloths on/near the altar and/or the pastor wearing a stole in a specific color on certain days? Lots of history!
The use of colors to differentiate liturgical seasons became a common practice in the Western church in about the 4th century. (Back when people couldn’t read the weekly bulletin because they couldn’t read and when they couldn’t see the info on the screen because electricity had not yet been discovered!) At first, usages varied considerably, but by the 12th century, Pope Innocent III systematized the use of five colors: violet (purple), white, black, red, and green. To these have been added blue and gold—colors that were used in some Western rites before the 12th century.
Briefly, the colors express emotions and ideas that are associated with each of the seasons of the liturgical year. Violet is the ancient royal color and therefore a symbol of the sovereignty of Christ. Violet is also associated with repentance from sin.
White and gold symbolize the brightness of day. Black is the traditional color of mourning in some cultures. Red evokes the color of blood and therefore is the color of martyrs and of Christ’s death on the Cross. Red also symbolizes fire and therefore is the color of the Holy Spirit. Green is the color of growth. Blue is the color of the sky and in some rites honors Jesus’ mother, Mary.
Pink is a recognized liturgical color, officially referred to as rose. It is an optional, joyous color used only twice a year to represent a brief reprieve from penitential seasons and the hopeful anticipation of an approaching major feasts.
Congregations in the United Church of Christ have the freedom to use any combination of colors (or no particular colors) as seems best to them. (That’s why pastors who wear stoles may coordinate/clash with a particular season’s “assigned” color!) The use of traditional colors, however, connects us to the wider Body of Christ and provides worship planners with visual aids that mark the transition from one season to another. Colors can be used in altar and pulpit decorations, vestments, banners, and tapestries.
Retrieved from https://www.ucc.org/wors
hip-way/worship_liturgies_liturgical-colors/
