In the weeks leading up to Christmas, we are flooded with red and green everywhere we go, for the world begins its Christmas celebrations far sooner than the Church does. It is arresting, in fact, to behold the purple and pink vestments at Mass, which link the season with Lent, when all around us, perhaps even in our own homes, everything has already been clothed in red and green. The colors of the candles on the Advent wreath, then, can perform an important function for us as we prepare for Christmas. It can be tempting to jump right into Christmas celebrations as soon as Thanksgiving has passed, and perhaps that is why the practice of lighting the Advent wreath can be so powerful: it is a reminder to us that Christ is coming, but that for now, we must watch and wait. 

The three purple candles of the Advent wreath, which are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent, remind us that the weeks before Christmas are meant to be a preparation; perhaps Advent is not a penitential season in the same way that Lent is, but we are, indeed, preparing for the coming of Christ. Advent is the season of prayer and fasting that precedes the feast. It is for this reason that Dom Prosper Guéranger, author of the oeuvre The Liturgical Year, argues that the holy day of Christmas has every “right to the honor of being prepared for by prayer and works of penance.” We should keep in mind on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent, as we are lighting the candles, that we ought to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. But it is a different kind of preparation than what is asked of us during Lent: during Lent, we know that it is Christ’s Passion and Death that are approaching, and therefore, we approach those days more somberly than we approach the birth of Christ. But consider how you might keep this principle in mind. Perhaps, with the exception of feast days such as St. Nicholas, the Immaculate Conception, St. Lucy, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, you could limit your consumption of sweet treats—this can, of course, be difficult whenever everyone is being generous with their baking! If you are invited to a Christmas party during Advent, by all means, be gracious; but keep your home ready for the coming of the Christ Child; work to clear out room for Him in the inn of your heart. Focus as much as possible on prayer during this season. Perhaps, your family can pray the St. Andrew Christmas novena every night together after dinner. This is a beautiful way to contemplate and prepare for the birth of Christ. Prioritize getting to confession, if possible, at least once during Advent; there are many dioceses that will offer confession services so that the faithful can make use of the sacrament and prepare their hearts for Christmas. 

As in Lent, the Church offers us a respite from the spirit of penance by introducing pink vestments (and in the case of Advent, a pink candle for our wreaths) that is intended as a reminder of the joy that awaits us on Christmas Day. The third week of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, and it takes its name from the Latin translation of the entrance antiphon for the Mass of the day: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:4-5). Although we will return to purple in the fourth week of Advent, we must take this opportunity during the third week to recall the reason for our hopeful expectation: Christ is coming! 

After the four Sundays of preparation, we come to midnight Mass to discover our beloved churches bedecked in red and green. Why red and green? Even as we celebrate the birth of Christ, we must always keep in mind that it was so that He might die for our sins that He was born; during each Mass—even Mass on Christmas Day—we recall His Passion and Death upon the Cross. The colors of the flowers and decorations in our churches and homes remind us of this, too. The red is a symbol of the blood of Christ, upon which hinges the salvation of mankind, and which He poured out for us out of an all-consuming love. But coupled with this symbol of Christ’s passion is the color green, which represents everlasting life. When we regard the little Infant in the manger, though Good Friday seems so far away, we ought to recall He came to die for us so that we might live forever. The red and green are reminders of God’s boundless love.