Lent is a season of spiritual growth and change. So it might help to look at it through God’s rainbow of colors. In particular, five hues are associated with this holy time of year on the liturgical calendar. The five Lent colors are:
- Green
- Purple
- Blue
- Yellow
- Red
But what do these colors mean? How can we think about them as we move through our Lenten journey, and how can they help us better understand the meaning of Lent?
READ MORE: Is Lent in the Bible?
The Meaning Behind the Lent Colors
1. Green: New Life
The very word “Lent” means spring and as the cool of winter fades, we look for all the green signs that the season of hope and redemption is at hand. The grass comes up, the leaves slowly burst forth on the trees. Bulbs that we planted in the fall, digging deep into the earth, push up and show their true colors. As you pray in Lent, you are looking to be fertilized and watered with God’s purifying love. You’re not green with envy; you’re green with new life. May it come.
READ MORE: 10 Ways to Observe a Green Lent
2. Purple: God’s Love
Purple has always been the liturgical color associated with Lent, when ministers of God wear purple vestments and the altars where we worship are often decorated with purple cloth. Purple has long been the color linked with royalty and nobility. Why? Because it was especially expensive to produce, made from thousands of mollusk shells. Only the rich could afford it. If the kings could wear it, shouldn’t it be appropriate for the King of Kings?
God came down to Earth and was reborn in Jesus as we become reborn in Him. Purple then becomes a link to what God put in our reach. We all deserve the purple, crowning ourselves with God’s infinite love.
3. Blue: Reflection
Lent is a time of deep reflection. When we offer ourselves up to the Lord in contemplative prayer, it is common to tap into sorrow and sometimes painful memories. We see our dark side. We remember our losses. We can be smitten with unexpected sadness. We find ourselves singing “the blues,” literally. But that very process is a letting go. We feel God’s forgiveness. The very singing of the blues becomes a way of healing. The clouds disappear. The blue skies open up. The air shimmers. Blue becomes crystal clear vision.
READ MORE: 20 Lent Bible Verses for Reflection and Guidance
4. Yellow: The Light Within
We are nothing without the warmth and golden light of the sun, waking us up in the morning, following us through the day, dropping over the horizon at day’s end, God with us always. Yellow is that God-given hue that when mixed with blue forms green or mixed with red becomes orange. It is the very light within.
In our Lenten meditations we stop whatever we are doing at different times during the day and connect directly to God who is always there to connect to us. Like the sun. There’s nothing soft about yellow. It is strong, life-giving, life-sustaining. With Lent you see how each moment is golden, not to be missed.
READ MORE: 20 Beautiful Lent Quotes to Inspire You
5. Red: Importance
Red is often the color associated with martyrs of the faith, those who gave their life over to the Lord. Red can symbolize the Passion of our Lord who gave His life for us and is often used on Palm Sunday. Later it invariably marks the feast day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down and filled Jesus’s followers as it fills us, giving us the power and strength to do what we might never have thought we could do.
Red is the color of the stop sign or that red light that made you halt. Like you halted for the 40 days of Lent. But it was only to remember what was and is most important in life. True red-letter days. May each day bring you the colors of your true Self.
No matter how you celebrate this Lent—whether you are giving something up, growing closer to God through Lenten prayers, or making the time to celebrate Lent as a family—think about the meaning behind these Lent colors. As you see the trees bud with green, think about new life. When you see the purple vestments at church, pray about God’s love. As you gaze up to the blue, spring sky, reflect on your progress this Lenten season. Do your Lenten prayers or meditations under the yellow light of the morning sun. If you see the color red throughout you day, take a second to think about the most important things in your life. How can you include all the Lent colors in your celebrations and prayers?
READ MORE ABOUT THE LENTEN SEASON:
