What Are The Colors of Christmas?

Other popular Christmas colors include gold, white, and blue. That’s not surprising, as these are the colors of the sky, stars, and snow. But the connection of these colors with Christmas is much deeper than that.

Some Christmas colors can surprise people not closely familiar with religious aspects or the history of the holiday.

So, purple and pink colors aren’t commonly used in Christmas decorations but are considered traditional by the church.

Tan is another unexpected Christmas color. Its connection to Christmas lies in the fact that Santa’s suit wasn’t always red.

Artists had different opinions regarding the Christmas spirit look and sometimes portrayed him in blue, tan, or green attires.

All colors we use today for Christmas decorations, cards, and gift wraps stem from ancient times.

And if you know what each of these colors represents, you can put special symbolism into every detail of your Christmas preparation.

Red

Red is the first color any of us imagines hearing the word “Christmas.” Rudolph’s nose, Santa’s suit, bows on a Christmas tree, baubles, and gift wraps are red.

Let’s start with why the main Christmas symbol, Santa Claus, wears red. A common misconception is that Coca-Cola has invented the modern Santa’s appearance. The truth is, the company only helped to popularize it.

Haddon Sundblom, a Swedish-American designer, created the famous 1931 Coca-Cola advertisement.

He portrayed Santa as a jolly plump man with a white beard wearing a red suit with a buckled belt. But such an image didn’t come out of the blue – earlier depictions inspired it.

Haddon Sundblom himself said that his vision was influence by Clement Clarke Moore’s infamous poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” written in 1837. But even this wasn’t the first portrayal of Santa in a red suit.

Saint Nicholas, a Bishop from Myra who was a kind and generous man, is considered the origin of modern Santa. And Bishop’s robes were traditionally red.

Alright, Santa’s suit color is justified. But why is Rudolph’s nose red? After all, reindeers are no mythical creatures, and their noses are black.

The answer is rather disappointing – no one knows for sure. But The British Medical Journal speculates the color is related to blood vessels in Rudolph’s nose.

Reindeer have 25% more capillaries than humans, and the cold air of the winter night sky requires an increased blood flow.

Holly berries and poinsettia, traditional Christmas plants, are red. The legend of poinsettia narrates that a Mexican boy had nothing to bring to church for Christmas and took some weeds from the side of the road.

After he had put them at the altar, he saw them turn into a fiery red flower. So, the red color is sometimes associated with a miracle.

Plus, the red color on its own is refreshing and festive. It’s the shade of heightened emotion, power, and cheer. It’s a naturally stimulating color that improves our taste and smell senses, and appetite.

Red is also the color symbolizing help provided to people in need – that’s where the American Red Cross comes from. And Christmas is a time to share love and help those around you.

Green

Green is one of the most notable Christmas colors, and the reason for this isn’t its beautiful contrasting combination with red.

Instead, Santa’s elves wear green, mistletoe and holly are green, Christmas trees are also green – but why?

Since ancient times, the green color represented everlasting life and fertility.

Nordic and British pagans used evergreen plants such as holly and ivy to decorate their homes and make wreaths during winter solstice festivals. Thus, they represented the soon arrival of spring.

Furthermore, British Father Christmas was usually depicted wearing green attire and a holly wreath for the same reason.

Don’t confuse Father Christmas with Santa Claus; these are two completely different figures. Father Christmas originated long before our Santa, back when Christianity didn’t exist.

Father Christmas was a symbolic figure who encouraged people to feast and didn’t give any gifts.

However, with the arrival of the Vikings to the British Islands, the perception of his figure has changed. The reason for this is the influence of Scandinavian paganism, particularly Odin.

Like Father Christmas, Odin was a symbol of the winter solstice. In addition, people believed he roams the night sky during the Yule festival and gives gifts to good people. And surprise – Odin also traditionally wore green.

These two Christmas symbols have largely influenced the modern perception of Santa Claus.

Until Santa’s red suit was widely accepted, he was often portrayed in green cloaks or suits, following examples of Father Christmas and Odin.

Gold

Gold is a standard color for gift wraps, ribbons, and other decorations. But it became one of Christmas’ primary colors not only due to visual appeal.

Gold is the color of stars and the Sun – maybe not astronomically, but that’s how most of us have portrayed these objects since childhood. Light is essential during cold and dark winters.

Furthermore, the gold color can represent the Star of Bethlehem that guided Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

Another religious symbolism of gold color is the gift brought to infant Jesus by Three Wise Men. One of them was gold, which was associated with royalty, and Christians believe that Jesus was the King of Kings.

Silver is often used instead of gold. It’s also commonly associated with stars, but the color is much colder than gold. However, silver resembles gleaming snow that’s common in winter in Nordic countries.

Tan

Tan may not be commonly used as an accent color during Christmas, but it’s a perfect base for brighter colors. Plus, the tan color actually has some links with Christmas.

Until the famous Coca-Cola advertisement came out, artists couldn’t agree on Santa’s suit color. For example, during his Great Hunt, Odin was often portrayed in a tan suit rather than green.

This perception of the winter holiday spirit has stemmed from Medieval Santa depictions, too.

So, a popular personification of the Christmas symbol was created by Richard Smart back in the 15th century and featured Santa in a greenish-brown suit.

Purple

Advent is a special period before Christmas dedicated to the hope for the soon birth of Christ. It marks Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

During the four Sundays of Advent, people light up candles. And three out of four candles are traditionally purple.

Purple may seem a strange choice for a religious ritual. We usually associate red, gold, or white with church but not such a rare color. But purple color rarity is the very reason it became the liturgical color for Advent.

Purple was associated with royalty and power due to its high price and low availability. And Jesus Christ is called “Our Lord,” and the Earth is his kingdom.

Over time, the purple color has become associated with penance and sacrifice. Yet, on the other hand, the purple Advent candles represent hope, faith, and peace.

Pink

The third Advent candle is traditionally pink.

This may also seem like an odd color for religious rituals, but the liturgical meaning of pink is joy and anticipation.

Thus, this candle represented the joy of the upcoming holiday.

White

Most modern Christmas traditions originated in northern countries, where snow in winter isn’t uncommon. Consequently, Christmas decorations often involve snowflakes, snowmen, and other snow-related items.

Santa’s beard is also white. However, the portrayal of Santa as a white-bearded elderly man likely has pagan roots.

Scandinavian God Odin, who served as one of modern Santa’s inspiration sources, used to have a long white beard.

During Advent, people typically light up four colored candles. But some Christians also light up the fifth one on Christmas Eve.

It’s white and is called the “Christ’s Candle,” representing Jesus. White color in liturgy symbolizes purity, joy, light, and glory.

White color is commonly used in other religious rituals, too. For instance, the altar in Orthodox Christian churches is covered with a white cloth at Christmas.

Blue

The color blue is associated with Christmas for several reasons. The first one is religious. While typically, Advent candles are purple, some churches insist that blue is a more suitable liturgical color.

Like purple, blue was scarce and expensive in ancient times and thus was also associated with royalty.

The liturgical color blue represents hope and expectation, which perfectly aligns with the meaning of the Advent period.

Blue is also the color of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and paying tribute to Jesus’ mother during Christmas makes perfect sense.

Another reason for the popularity of blue color in Christmas decorations is that before Santa’s red suit was widely accepted, it was commonly portrayed as blue.

One of the most famous depictions of Santa was created by cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1863 for Harper’s Weekly journal.

The picture shows Santa distributing gifts to soldiers. His attire consists of striped trousers and a blue coat covered in stars.

Lastly, blue is the color of the night sky roamed by Santa in his sleigh. While one may argue that the night sky is black, astronomers insist it’s actually dark blue.