It's December : Looking at the Colours of Christmas

image from here

Yes, December arrives and for many our thoughts turn to Christmas. This year because of the COVID-19/Coronavirus Pandemic, many of the ways that Christmas is celebrated might be different. But I am sure those of us that do celebrate Christmas will do their best to do so in these rather strange and uncertain times.

Have you put your Christmas decorations up yet? Eddie and I have, in fact they were done last Friday! I don't think they have ever been done this early but somehow it seemed the right thing to do. It's certainly made our place look very festive, I haven't taken any photographs yet, it's on my to do list!

Have you ever thought about The Colours of Christmas? Personally I like reds and greens but "there are several colours which are traditionally associated with Christmas. Most of the colours and their meanings come from the western/northern European traditions and customs, when Christmas is in the middle of winter and it's dark and cold.

Green
Evergreen plants, like Holly, Ivy and Mistletoe have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever!

The Romans would exchange evergreen branches during January as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians used to bring palm branches into their houses during the mid winter festivals.

In many parts of Europe during the middle ages, Paradise plays were performed, often on Christmas Eve. They told Bible stories to people who couldn't read. The 'Paradise Tree' in the garden of Eden in the play was normally a pine tree with red apples tied to it.

Now the most common use of green at Christmas are Christmas Trees.

Red

As mentioned above, an early use of red at Christmas were the apples on the paradise tree. They represented the fall of Adam in the plays.

Red is also the colour of Holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross.

Red is also the colour of Bishops robes. These would have been worn by St. Nicholas and then also became Santa's uniform!

Gold

Gold is the colour of the Sun and light - both very important in the dark winter. And both red and gold are the colours of fire that you need to keep you warm.

Gold was also one of the presents brought to the baby Jesus by one of the wise men and traditionally it's the colour used to show the star that the wise men followed.

Silver is sometimes used instead of (or with) gold. But gold is a 'warmer' colour.

grand-daughter always enjoys putting the (gold) star on top of the (green) tree

White

White is often associated with purity and peace in western cultures. The snow of winter is also very white!

White paper wafers were also sometimes used to decorate paradise trees. The wafers represented the bread eaten during Christian Communion or Mass, when Christians remember that Jesus died for them.

White is used by most churches as the colour of Christmas, when the altar is covered with a white cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church Gold is used for Christmas).

a (white) snowy scene Lake District UK image from here

Blue

The colour blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! So it would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people. Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important.

Blue can also represent the colour of the sky and heaven.

image from here

Purple
During Advent, purple and sometimes blue is used in most churches for the colour of the altar cloth (in the Russian Orthodox Church red is used for advent)"
The above taken from here

image from here

If you would like some Happy Low Carb Christmas Tips, have a look here

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All the best Jan