I tend to explain that there is a spectrum from “more a sign” at one end to “more a symbol” at the other end. A sign needs explanation.
This is a sign: you need an explanation that there is a “Give Way” ahead. And then, for some people, there needs to be further explanation about what a “Give Way” sign indicates.
A symbol needs little to no explanation. Bread nourishes; water cleans and refreshes; a hug can console;…
The liturgical colours are more towards the sign end of the spectrum. Most people are helped by being told that
White (or Gold; or “Best”) is for the great festival seasons and feasts (The Christmas Season, The Easter Season, non-martyr saints,…).
Violet is for the periods of preparation for these White seasons (Advent, Lent).
Green is for “Ordinary Time” (“Counting Time” – from “ordinal numbers” 1st, 2nd, 3rd…).
Red is for the Holy Spirit (fire) and martyrs (blood).
Within Anglicanism, liturgical colours are not compulsory. Some use a more blue colour in Advent. There are some (debated) English (“Sarum”) traditions that, for example, have unbleached cloth as a more penitential Lent (going to Red towards Holy Week). This might have Red as the “Ordinary Time” colour.
There’s a complicated history around “Kingdomtide” – all of the time between the Day of Pentecost and Advent, then shortened for some to Northern-Hemisphere Autumn, and then to a period between All Saints and Advent. The Church of England’s The Promise of His Glory (1990) had an “All Saints’ Tide” and their Celebrating Common Prayer (1992) had a “Kingdom Season”. These did not recommend a change in colour. Some people use Red between All Saints and Advent. It has been suggested that this draws on Sarum for that bit of year. I’ve been told that the changing from Green to Red for this sub-time of Ordinary Time comes from David Stancliffe, an invention in the mid 80’s at Portsmouth Cathedral. If you have more information on that, do let us know. Red for All Saints to Advent was first put into the NZ Lectionary booklet in 2002, where it had the usual statement that this was descriptive, not prescriptive, but it did claim the (false) fiction that “reflect[s] common practice in most parishes.” Some people have told me that this is an “eschatological season” (Yeah right! There’s NOTHING more-than-usual eschatological about some of the Sunday Gospel readings after All Saints. AND, furthermore, there’s nothing Red about eschatology!
The swapping from Green to Red at this part of Ordinary Time simply gives the feeling of tiring of Green and thinking, “let’s use the least-used liturgical colour now that I’m tiring of Green.” And this Church of England development spread to NZ Anglicanism by a CofEphile who was also tiring of Green, and thought: let’s do this here too. And then say that this is “what is happening “common practice in most parishes”.
So here’s my 2 cents: use Green for Ordinary Time. You can use White on the last Sunday of the Church Year (The Reign of Christ) and, of course, back to Green in the week that follows.
I advocate for using White (Gold) for funerals (celebrating Christ’s triumph over death in His resurrection), and for weddings.
You can start further research into Byzantine and Russian liturgical colours here.
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