The Colors of Christmas

If a person were to put mental images about Christmas onto a sheet of paper using two crayons, the colors would most definitely be red and green. Why not purple or orange?

Red and green are dominant and are traditionally associated with the holidays, but what do these colors really represent?

Other than being complementary colors, the color combination is traced to religious accounts.

According to an article at www. wonderopolis.org, back in antiquity a popular miracle play was performed on Christmas Eve called Paradise Play. It was the story of Adam and Eve, and how they got banished from paradise when they ate the forbidden apple from the Tree of Good and Evil.

In winter, the apple trees were barren so the churches would instead use pine trees and tied red ripe apples to it to make it represent the Tree of Good and Evil in the play. As the years passed by, a tradition had developed at Christmas of having any tree and decorating it with red apples to contrast its green leaves.

Red represents the holly berries which is said to be the blood shed by Jesus Christ during the crucifixion. The red color also supposedly symbolized the color of the apples on the paradise tree, where the serpents tempted Adam and Eve. It also represented the color of St. Nicholas’ or St. Nick’s robe.

Green, on the other hand, symbolizes the evergreen, or eternal, life that Jesus Christ promised for all who believe in Him. Green is also the natural color of the evergreen tree, better known as the Christmas tree.

But long before Christ came, green already held a powerful symbol of mystery and life. All the other plants die during the winter but fir trees and holly bushes remained evergreen. These are also some of the few plants that survive in the frigid temperatures of winter. The color green has also evolved to symbolize fertility and hope.

Interestingly, red and green are the only bright colors that thrive in nature during the cold season, conveying hope that the cycle of life still continues and a promise warmth will come right after the cold days.