One Family of Faith

Since at least the 12th century churches have used a variety of colour schemes for vestments and decorations to mark the liturgical seasons and holy days.  The Anglican Church of Canada does not recommend any colour scheme, but the one legislated for use in the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century has become popular among Anglicans everywhere over the last 150 years (white, red, violet, and green).  This calendar reflects that scheme. Communities may wish, however, to add or substitute other colours (such as blue in the Advent) according to local taste and custom.

The use of colours can assist in distinguishing greater or lesser degrees of celebration amongst the Holy Days, Memorials, and Commemorations of the Anglican liturgy.  In this calendar Holy Days . . . and Memorials are assigned a special colour for the day. Commemorations retain the colour of the season in which they fall.

The celebration of Sundays and some Holy Days begins in the evening of the preceding day.  Accordingly some dates have two letters" one to indicated the colour of the day, and the second to indicate the colour of that evening, which anticipates the Holy Day that follows. (2010 Calendar, The Anglican Church of Canada).