The Colours of Christmas

Last year my Christmas cards were green and red, the colours which are traditionally associated with Christmas. Green represents the evergreen plants, like holly, ivy and mistletoe, which have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long dark winter. They also reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever! Now the most common use of green at Christmas is of course Christmas trees.

Red is the colour of holly berries, which is said to represent the blood of Jesus when he died on the cross. Red is also the colour of Father Christmas' robes.

This year I decided to recreate a previous design of mine, this time using a different colour palette. I chose blue, purple and white, based on some patterned paper I found.

The colour blue is often associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. In medieval times blue dye and paint was more expensive than gold! It would only be worn by Royal families and very rich people. Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important. Blue can also represent the colour of the sky and heaven.

Purple is the main colour of Advent, the period before Christmas, when Christians fast and repent in anticipation of Christ's birth. Purple symbolises royalty, luxury and is used in many churches for the colour of the altar cloth.

Finally, the last two colours I used on my cards were white and silver. White is often associated with purity and peace in western cultures. Winter snow is of course white as well. I added some sparkly silver baubles. The use of silver at Christmas all started with tinsel. Back in the 17th century, in Nuremberg, Germany, thin strands of real silver were used in trees to reflect candlelight, as they used to put real candles in their trees. Nowadays, silver is associated with prestige and sophistication.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun.