A HISTORIC YEAR
The Christian Year is as old as the Resurrection of our Lord, and as new as the latest revisions. With the resurrection, the disciples of Jesus began a weekly celebration of the event on the First Day of the week. These disciples, like their Lord, had all their lives observed the Jewish Ritual Year. But eventually they substituted Sunday, the First Day of the week, for Saturday the Seventh Day, Easter for the Passover, and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for the giving of the Law from Sinai. Together with this they soon began to observe the Nativity of the Lord. Adding certain preparatory and penitential seasons, they had by the sixth century developed a Christian Year for the order of worship, substantially as we have it today.
The four weeks of Advent ("Coming") are devoted to preparation for the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas) -- and the preparation for His second coming, in majesty, to judge the world. Then, following the events of his earthly life of self-sacrifice, we celebrate His Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (Whitsunday). The second half of the Church Year is co-ordinate with the first, since it celebrates the continuing work of Christ, in His Church, by the Spirit.
Certain days are fixed dates, others are movable, depending on the date of Easter. Easter falls on the Sunday after the 14th day of the Paschal moon -- that is the Calendar moon whose 14th day falls on, or follows next after, the vernal equinox, March 21st.
THE VALUE AND INCREASING USE OF THE CHURCH YEAR
The Anglican, the Roman, the Greek Orthodox, and the Lutheran churches have followed this Christian Year, each making its own distinctive contributions. The new emphasis of our day on worship, beauty, architecture, and ecumenism is, however, bringing the Christian Year into even wider usage among all Christians. This calendar incorporates the Episcopaly form and a color system of the essential seasons and festivals of the Christ and His Church. Its use in the home increases both Christian and Church consciousness, as it secures attention, and places in proper order the great truths of Christianity. This orderly progression of the presentation of the facts of our Lord's life is impressive and instructive, as it carries one through the colorful days and festivals of our Lord's life and ministry, and those of the Church in which He is Incarnate.
THE LITURGICAL COLORS
As God has flooded earth and sky with color, so the Church has sensed teh symbolic use of color in its worship. As dominating colors in nature change with the seasons of the fourfold year, so in the Church Year there is a structured change in the colors of the Eucharistic vestments, the liturgical colors.
This sequence of liturgical colors has a principal role in Christian visual education, in teaching the Gospel through the eye.
WHITE, symbolizing joy, purity, and truth, is used on the Sundays and open days of Christmastide and Paschaltide; on all Solemnities except Pentecost and Holy Cross Day; Feasts, Memorials and Votive Masses of the Blessed Virgin, the angles, and saints who were not martyrs; Nativity of St. John Baptist, Confession of St. Peter, Conversion of St. Paul, Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day; Ritual Masses for Baptism and Matrimony, and optionally for Confirmation; and Votive Masses of our Lord, the Holy Trinity and the Eucharist, and optionally for Masses for the Dead. Gold is sometimes used in place of white on major feasts.
RED, the color of fire and of blood, is used on Pentecost; optionally on Palm Sunday and Good Friday; feats and Votives of the Passion of our Lord and of the birthday feasts of the Apostles and Evangelists; feats and votives of the Martyrs; Votives of the Holy Spirit; Ritual Masses for Ordination and optionally for Confirmation.
GREEN, the color of living things and of God's creation, is used on the Sundays and ferias in the season after Epiphany and Pentecost.
VIOLET, symbolic of penitence and expectation, is used in the seasons of Advent and Lent; for Voties penitential in nature or for the gift of healing; for Penance and Unction; and may also be used for the offices and Masses for the dead, and on Ember and Rogation Days.
BLACK, representative of deep sorrow, may be used for Good Friday and for offices and Masses for the dead.
ROSE, penitence permeated with joy, may be used on the Third Sunday of Advent and the Fourth Sunday in Lent.
BLUE, in the lighter shades, is sometimes used on feasts of the Blessed Virgin. In the darker shades o indigo, blue is frequently used during Advent.