There is not one, universally-recognized version of the Christian year. In fact you’ll find considerable variation in timing and practices, even within one denomination or tradition. All versions, to my knowledge, recognize Christmas and Easter as the twin hubs around which rotate the variety of feasts, fasts, and seasons of the year. But even the specific dates for Christmas and Easter vary among different Christian traditions. So, the Christian year I’m going to describe is a version of the Western tradition, which you’ll find in many Protestant denominations, as well as the Roman Catholic church. One other prefatory note. Part of what makes observing the liturgical year special is color. Different events and seasons are reflected in a variety of colors, including purple, white, green, black, red, pink, blue, gold, and some other colors as well. The seasonal color, usually displayed in various ways in the place of worship, reflects and augments the thematic elements of the season. So, for example, purple is understood to symbolize penitence (among other things), so it is used during the season of Lent. Once again I should emphasize that there is no single color scheme either recognized by or imposed upon all Christians. (In the twelfth-century Pope Innocent II systematized the Roman Catholic color scheme, but since Vatican II in the 1960s Roman Catholic churches have exercised considerable freedom in their use of alternative or additional colors.) The following chart summarizes the Christian year, with calendar dates, themes, and major colors: |
Day or Season | Date(s) | Theme(s) | Meaning of Color(s) | Color(s) |
Advent | From four Sundays before Christmas Day to Christmas Eve | Waiting; expectation; hope; longing; joy | Purple (or sometimes blue) for solemnity and royalty; pink for joy on third Sunday | |
Christmas | Twelve days from December 25 to Jan 5 | Birth of Jesus; Word Incarnate; Celebration; Joy; Light; Salvation | White and gold for celebration, light, purity | |
Epiphany | January 6 | The "epiphany" (manifestation) of Jesus as the Son of God; the visit of the Magi; joy. Sometimes the baptism of Jesus is celebrated here. | White and gold for joy and celebration | |
Ordinary Time | January 7 to the day before Ash Wednesday | "Ordinary Time" describes the Christian year when there is no unusual focus | Green for life and growth | |
Ash Wednesday | The Wednesday seven weeks before Easter | Penitence; mere humanness; sin; our need for a savior; mortality | Black or gray for sinfulness and death; purple for penitence and solemnity | |
Lent | The 40 weekdays before Easter, not counting Sundays, includes Holy Week | Penitence; solemness; spiritual focus; self-denial; preparation for Easter. | Purple for penitence and solemnity | |
Holy Week | The week before Easter (including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday) | Preparation for Easter; remembering the last week of Jesus's life; the death of Jesus | Red for passion and the blood of Christ | |
Palm Sunday | The Sunday of Holy Week | Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem; Jesus as king | Red for Holy Week; sometimes gold or white or purple (for royalty) | |
Maundy Thursday | The Thursday before Easter | Remembering the "new commandment" to love one another (mandatum novum in Latin, from which we get "Maundy") | Red for passion and Christ's sacrifice | |
Good Friday | The Friday before Easter | Remembering the death of Jesus; sorrow; confession; anticipation | Black for death, sorrow | |
Easter | The Sunday after the first full moon after Vernal Equinox (more or less) | The resurrection; eternal life; victory; joy; light; life | Gold and white | |
Eastertide | Seven weeks after Easter (including Ascension Sunday) | Continued joyful celebration of the resurrection and its implications | Red (for the church); gold and white for Easter | |
Pentecost | The seventh Sunday after Easter | The outpouring of the Holy Spirit; the birth of the church; God's power. | Red (for power) | |
Ordinary Time | From Pentecost to the day before Advent | Growth in Christ; can include special celebrations such as Trinity Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day, etc. | Green (for life and growth) | |
Trinity Sunday | The Sunday after Pentecost | Recognizing the presence and power and majesty of the Triune God | White or gold | |
Christ the King | The last Sunday before Advent | Honoring Christ as the King of the present and the future | White or gold | |
I've not included many minor holy days, such as Ascension Sunday, Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day, etc. Some Christians recognize these days; some do not. Moreover, there is considerable variation on many of the details. My chart represents one approach among many.
In my next post I'll say more about how the liturgical year and the colors associated with the seasons can enrich our corporate worship and our personal spirituality. If you think all of this stuff is relevant only to highly liturgical churches, think again!
I've not included many minor holy days, such as Ascension Sunday, Reformation Sunday, All Saints Day, etc. Some Christians recognize these days; some do not. Moreover, there is considerable variation on many of the details. My chart represents one approach among many. In my next post I'll say more about how the liturgical year and the colors associated with the seasons can enrich our corporate worship and our personal spirituality. If you think all of this stuff is relevant only to highly liturgical churches, think again! |  | If you'd like a large JPEG of the chart above, click on the chart to the left and download the picture from the next page. |
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