Some things catch on temporarily and then fade away. Not this new tradition of red carpets for churches! We're not just talking about weddings, which is the kind of ceremony where you'd expect to see a plush red carpet as the bride and her entourage make a grand entrance. Churches are adopting the practice of a standard red carpet for the main aisle - whether or not there's a ceremony. Red carpets for churches are now used to usher the path of the choir, or the church's kindergarten class when it's time for a presentation, a seasonal pageant, and many more occasions. CeremonialSupplies.com prides itself in offering the best quality red carpets (and many more colors!), stanchions and ropes, and other ceremonial supplies, and we ship promptly and efficiently everywhere.
The Crimson Walkway Of Deities
In ancient times the red carpet wasn't as popular as it is today. As a matter of fact it was so rare that its use was thought to be reserved for gods. To begin with, the red dye, called carmine, used to create the coloring of red fabric in those days was obtained by crushing cochineal insects and boiling them. The first recorded instance of the use of a red carpet was in the ancient Greek play "Agamemnon," the King of Mycenae and brother of Menelaus - who was the husband of Helen of Troy. Upon returning from the Trojan War, Agamemnon is received by his wife who rolls out a crimson tapestry for his homecoming upon where he speaks of his fear of stepping on the red carpet, which was only used for gods. His fear, we find, was totally founded - but that's another story. Our point here being the high honor associated with the red carpet, the illustrious walkway of the gods.
It seems appropriate therefore, that red carpets for churches would be a natural progression as churches would be inclined to use a red carpet runner on the main aisle that leads to the high altar, symbolizing a pathway to an outer-worldly, heavenly, stratosphere. Today, the crimson dye and red carpets are much easier to come about than in ancient times. Thanks to this modern development, red carpets for churches are being used beyond wedding ceremonies, and included in special introductions, holiday presentations, pageantry and many more traditional processions depending on belief denominations. During Advent for example, churches are vividly decorated with beautiful wreaths of evergreen adorned with red ribbons and gold bows or other ornaments, red poinsettias, and Christmas trees; the church calendar is filled with musical performances, plays and similar celebratory activities. It is especially during this time that we find red carpets for churches rolled out and used for many symbolic events of this holiday, such as the procession of the Three Kings, and other relevant stories. Even for somber occasions when churches hold viewings in honor of a cherished member of the congregation or the community, a red carpet - and in many cases a black carpet - runner is used as a way of demonstrating respect and bereavement.
In all, the trend of red carpets for churches, appears to have a found a steady home in old and new traditions of every-day life, and CeremonialSupplies.com is the best place on the internet to find quality red carpet runners, ribbons and many other fine products. We ship efficiently and promptly wherever you are. For a memorable red carpet occasion, shop our products; we're a click of the mouse away!