Blue Advent Color

Greetings!

Following the Worship Services on Sunday, I received several questions from people asking me about the blue candles. As long as I’ve been around Bradley I have noticed the use of blue paraments (the dressings on the pulpit and communion table), but this is the first year for blue candles in the Advent wreath. I started off trying to remember who all asked the questions, but after the 8:30 service, I could no longer remember who all had asked, so I’m sending an e-mail for explanation to my Bradley e-mail master list.

So, here’s an explanation into the use of the color blue for Advent.

Historically, the primary color of Advent has been purple – most significant of penitence and fasting and lesser significance of royalty. Purple is still used in Catholic churches for Advent and still is the color for the season of Lent. In recent years, many Protestant churches are using blue to distinguish the Season of Advent from Lent. Also, royal blue is the primary color for royalty and as the western church has shifted from placing a large penitential aspect on the season of Advent (reserving it for Lent), the emphasis has become primarily on hope and anticipation. In older Protestant tradition a pink candle was used on the third Sunday of Advent and was used to symbolize “joy.” However, if you trace its roots, you’ll find it originates from the Catholic Church some say it symbolizes the Assumption of Mary and in other Catholic resources, you’ll find that long ago, the pope had the custom of giving someone a rose on the fourth Sunday in Lent. This led the Roman Catholic clergy to wear rose-colored vestments on that Sunday. The effect was to give some relief from the solemnity of the penitence originally associated with Advent. Regardless, the pink originates from Catholic tradition, not Protestant tradition.

The candles really have no more meaning that whatever a local church or pastor wants to ascribe to them. It really was just a way of counting down the Sundays, but over the years, they have been given “traditional” meaning and people think “that’s the way it should be.” The idea of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace is not anything other than what got picked up by the most people, BUT the wreath is flexible. It’s decorative and it sets up Advent and the Sanctuary to be just a little different from other seasons of the liturgical calendar.

I hope this helps answers most of the questions….

Happy Advent!