The Church Year
The Church Year is a method of keeping time. The Church Year helps keep the worshipper focused upon Christ. There are a variety of Liturgical Calendars for the Christian Church. Generally speaking, the Church Year begins with Advent, moves to Christmas, and then Epiphany. The next section of the Church Year begins with Ash Wednesday, moves to Lent, then Easter and the Sundays after Easter. The final section consists of Pentecost, the Sunday of the Holy Trinity, the Sundays which follow, and ends with Christ the King - the Sunday of the Fulfillment. The colors for the various Sundays and the organization of the Sundays themselves are arranged differently by various groups of Christians.
"It must be remembered , however, that on an Ascension Day in the 16th Century, one could still have seen best vestments used in Salisbury; white, in Westminster; blue, in the College of saint Bernard at Romans; yellow, in Prague; red, in Utrecht; and green, in Soissons."
This quote from A Concise Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Terms, by The Reverend Frederick L. Eckel, Jr. Shows that the seasons and colors of worship are not something set in scripture, but rather something lived out variously in the lives of those who worship.
Advent ( the term derives from the Latin "advenire" - that is "to arrive". ) is the usual beginning of the Church Year. Advent is always the four Sundays preceding Christmas Day. Typical colors used for Advent are blue and purple. Advent is a time of preparation and anticipation - focused upon Christ s Birth and Second Coming.
