Liturgical Colors

WHITE symbolizes light, innocence, purity, joy, triumph and glory

It is used during the following:

• Season of Christmas
• Season of Easter
• Trinity Sunday
• Feasts of the Lord, other than of His passion
• Feasts of Mary, the angels, confessors, virgins, holy women and saints who were not martyrs 
• Birth of St. John the Baptist
• the chief feast of St. John the Evangelist
• the feast of the Chains and of the Chair of St. Peter
• the Conversion of St. Paul
• All Saints (1 November)
• Consecration of churches and altars
• Anniversaries of the election and Coronation of the Pope
• Election and Consecration of Bishops; 
• Octaves of these feasts and the Offices de tempore from Holy Saturday to the vigil of Pentecost
• Votive Masses when the feasts have white
• Services in connection with the Blessed Sacrament
• Administration of Baptism
• Administration of the Holy Viaticum
• Holy Thursday
• Nuptial Masses
• Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses) when the deceased is a baptized child who died before the age of reason
• Simbang Gabi (Solemn Votive masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Note: White is the color of Popes' non-liturgical dress. White can be replaced by Silver.

GREEN symbolizes hope and life eternal.

It is used during the following:

• Time After Epiphany 
• Time After Pentecost

RED symbolizes the Passion, blood, fire, God's Love and martyrdom

It is used during the following:

• Feasts of Christ's Passion and His Precious Blood, the Finding and Elevation of the Cross
• Feasts of the apostles and evangelist except St. John
• Feasts of martyrs
• votive Masses of these feasts
• Holy Innocents 
• Palm Sunday
• Pentecost
• Good Friday
• Confirmation Masses
• Masses for deceased Popes and Cardinals

Note: Red is the color of Cardinals' non-liturgical dress

VIOLET symbolizes penance, humility and melancholy.

It is used during the following:

• Season of Advent
• Season of Septuagesima
• Season of Lent
• Rogation Days
• Ember Days (except for Pentecost Ember Days)
• Vigils that are fast days except for Ascension (white) and Pentecost (red)
• Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick
• Masses and offices for the dead, including All Souls' Day

Note: Violet, literally "amaranth red," is the color of Bishops', Archbishops', and Patriarchs' non-liturgical dress

TERMINOLOGY

ROGATION DAYS are the four days traditionally set apart for solemn processions to invoke God's mercy. They are April 25, the Major Rogation, coinciding with St. Mark's Day (but having no connection with it); and the three days preceding Ascension Day, the Minor Rogations.

EMBER DAYS are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church byPope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross). 

ROSE symbolizes joy and rejoicing.

It is used during the following:

• Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent)
• Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Note: Violet is used if there's no Rose color.

BLACK symbolizes mourning and sorrow.

It is used during the following:

• All Souls Day
• Masses and Offices for the dead (Requiem Masses), except for baptized children who've died before the age of reason.
• Otherwise, Violet is used.

GOLD symbolizes joy.

- Gold can replace white, red, or green (but not violet or black)

BLUE symbolizes the Blessed Virgin Mary.

- Blue  is allowed for the feast of the Immaculate Conception in some dioceses in Spain, Portugal, Mexico and South America.

- In the Philippines it is authorized for all feasts of the Virgin Mary, a practice followed in some other places without official authorization.