The colour associated with Advent is purple, reminiscent of royalty as befits the coming of a King.
Its second meaning is suffering, and also prayer, penitence and sacrifice. In this the purple colour of Advent foreshadows Jesus’ death on the cross.
At the start of Advent, the purple fall is put up on the pulpit. I think it is possibly my favourite, as it is so typical of my Mother’s embroidery style, and the one which she had free range as to the design.
The silver kid was cut in her favourite calligraphy style and the embellishments with silver, gold and purple beads with gold & silver couched threads. This fine swirly detail is not often seen by everyone, so I’ve added a close up. I always enjoy seeing this appear each year.
This post from Fiona is part of our online “Advent calendar”, taking us through to Christmas. You can see all the posts here.