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The Common Calendar
ADVENT SEASON
First Sunday of Advent to Fourth Sunday of Advent- violet or blue
Third Sunday of Advent - rose, violet or blue
CHRISTMAS SEASON- white
Christmas Eve/Day- white
First Sunday after Christmas- white
New Year's Eve/Day or Holy Name of Jesus- white
Second Sunday after Christmas- white
Epiphany- white
SEASON AFTER EPIPHANY (or Ordinary Time)
First Sunday after Epiphany (Baptism of the Lord) -white
Second Sunday after Epiphany to Eighth Sunday after Epiphany- green
Last Sunday after Epiphany (Transfiguration Sunday) - white
LENTEN SEASON- violet or purple
Ash Wednesday- violet or purple
First Sunday of Lent to Fifth Sunday of Lent
Holy Week
Passion/Palm Sunday - red or violet
Monday in Holy Week
Tuesday in Holy Week
Wednesday in Holy Week
Holy Thursday - white
Good Friday - none or black
Holy Saturday - none or black
EASTER SEASON - white
Easter Vigil
Easter - white
Easter Evening
Second Sunday of Easter to Sixth Sunday of Easter
Ascension (Sixth Thursday of Easter) - white
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Pentecost- red
SEASON AFTER PENTECOST (or Ordinary Time or Kingdomtide) - green
Trinity Sunday (First Sunday after Pentecost) - white or green
Sundays After Pentecost - green
Christ the King (Last Sunday after Pentecost) - green or white
SPECIAL DAYS
Presentation (February 2)
Annunciation (March 25)
Visitation (May 31)
Holy Cross (September 14)
All Saints (November 1 or First Sunday in November) - white
Thanksgiving Day - red or white
LITURGICAL NOTES
(taken from the U.C.C. Desk Calendar and Plan Book)
• Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent. Violet throughout Lent is in wide use, but some churches have begun instead to use browns, beiges, and grays (i.e., burlaps and unbleached fabrics) to reflect the mood of penitence.
• There are many variations in the use of vestments and color during Holy Week. Some common practices: red, the color of martyrs, for Palm/Passion Sunday up to Maundy Thursday, when white is used for Holly communion; stripping of all chancel paraments at the conclusion of the Maundy Thursday service, with no adornment until the appearance of white and/or gold at Easter Vigil or Easter Sunday; the use of black, red or no color for Good Friday; the use of scarlet during Holy Week instead of the "fIre" red of Pentecost.
• Red is sometimes used in the Church year as a reminder of martyrdom, but in the case of the day of Pentecost, it is traditionally thought to represent the tongues of fire. This burst of color is followed by the long season of ordinary time during which the color green is displayed and worn to symbolize life, growth, and the church in mission.
• Where Trinity Sunday is observed, white is often used.
• Some traditions observe All Saints Day as a celebration of all the saints, including those of the past and those whom we have known in our midst. The usual color for this day is white. In some traditions All Saints is celebrated yearly on the first Sunday of November, and all who have died during the year are remembered. • The violet color for Advent has traditional connections with the themes of royalty and penitence. Blue is symbolic of the themes of expectation and hope, not only for the birth of Christ, but for Christ's return at the end of history.
• Advent wreaths come in many forms and colors. Some have four candles, and some have a fifth for Christmas Eve and thereafter. Some advent-wreath sets include a rose candle whose origins may be in Gaudete, and old custom in which a little relief from the somberness of Advent was provided on the Third Sunday of Advent.
• The use of rose on the third Sunday of Advent, which was called Gaudete Uoy), provided a little relief from the somberness of Advent in earlier times. Some advent wreath sets include a rose candle.
• White first appears on Christmas Eve and may be continued through the Sunday after
Christmas, Epiphany, and the Sunday after Epiphany (celebrated by many as the Baptism
of Christ) to show that all of these events are related in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
White is also used for Easter and Sundays following. Some traditions use gold or both for Christmas and Easter.
The colors of the liturgical season do not vary for events such as baptisms and wedding ceremonies held in the church. | 
