Onondaga Central
If you were to describe Christmas, chances are there are two colors you would use more than any others: red and green. For hundreds of years, red and green have been the traditional colors of Christmas, but why is that?
Even though Christmas trees are green, Santa's clothes are red, and Rudolph's nose is red, these modern Christmas decorations and characters were not the inspiration for the colors we associate with Christmas today. To find their root, we have to go back in time. Although no one knows for sure, there are a few popular theories. One of those theories is that red and green were inspired by the life of Jesus. For example, green represents the eternal life of Jesus Christ, just as evergreen trees remain green all winter long. Red represents the blood shed by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. This representation of Christmas colors is commonly believed among Christians. Another theory that some scholars theorize was that the red and green date back to the 1300s, when churches would present Miracle Plays. These were religious plays that were meant to educate the illiterate public who could not read the Bible. One popular Miracle Play was performed on Christmas Eve. It was called The Paradise Play. This play tells the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Those familiar with the story know that God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil. However, they did so anyway and were banished from paradise. Since apple trees were barren in winter, churches would instead bring in pine trees. Then they would place apples on the branches to represent the Tree of Good and Evil. Over time, people began to mimic this practice in their own homes. This developed into the tradition of the Christmas tree along with using red and green as Christmas colors. Many historians believe the practice of using red and green goes even farther back in history. They look at the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which honored the god Saturn. This occurred each year between December 17 and December 23. During the celebration, Romans would decorate their homes with holly and place small figurines called sigillaria on the branches of evergreen trees. Over time, evergreen leaves and red berries came to symbolize the festive and merry season. As you can see, there are many theories of why we use red and green as Christmas colors. Although we are not sure if they are correct, it is still fun to know about them! So next time someone asks you why red and green are Christmas colors, you know how to respond! Source: https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-are-red-and-green-traditional-christmas-colors
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