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Generally, in the Roman Catholic Church, green, symbolizing life, growth and hope, is worn in Ordinary Time; purple, symbolizing penance and expiation, is worn through Advent and Lent and on days of fasting; white or gold, symbolizing purity, holiness, joy, innocence and triumph, is worn during the Christmas and Easter seasons (including the Easter Triduum, except for Good Friday), on feasts of Our Lady, on feasts of the Angels, on feasts of all saints who were not martyrs and on a holy day of obligation; red, symbolizing fire and blood, is worn at Pentecost (to remind us of the tongues of fire which descended on the apostles), on Good Friday, on feasts of the Holy Cross, on the feasts of saints who were also martyrs, and on feasts consecrated to the Holy Spirit; (rose, expressive of joy that half a penitential season is over, is permitted to be worn only on the Fourth Sunday of Lent and on the Third Sunday of Advent as an alternative to purple. It is, however, not compulsory; black, symbolizing mourning, though still included as one of the churches liturgical colours, has fallen out of fashion/use, but may still be worn on Good Friday, All Souls Day and in Masses for the Dead).
In many Protestant churches, particularly those with Anglican origins, blue rather than purple is used during Advent, and crimson is used during Holy Week (formerly in the last two weeks before Easter). Some churches replace purple during Lent (except Holy Week) with a Lenten array consisting of unbleached muslin cloth (varying in color but usually ranging from off-white to beige) with accents of crimson or black.
Roman Catholicism
Protestantism/Anglicanism