Christmas Colors | Holiday Hues and Festive Palettes

You can trace today’s Christmas color associations back to ancient mid-winter celebrations that took place long before the holiday as we know it existed.

If you’re exploring different ways of using Christmas colors in your festive visuals or decorations, an AI tool like QuillBot’s free AI image generator can help you instantly visualize ideas for holiday-inspired palettes.

Christmas red and green

Today’s dominant association of red and green with Christmas began to take hold in the 19th century, building on much older winter traditions that had long featured these colors.

In ancient European cultures, midwinter and New Year celebrations often involved decorating dwellings with evergreens like holly and mistletoe—plants that symbolized life and renewal during the darkest time of year. These plants and branches, with their rich green leaves and berries, some of which were bright red, naturally introduced the colors into winter festivities.

Later, the image of Santa Claus, inspired by traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas, who was often depicted wearing red bishop’s robes, further reinforced the prominence of red.

These are some of the influences that are responsible for the red and green color palettes that define the Christmas season today.

What are Christmas colors?

Classic Christmas colors are all about rich reds, deep greens, and crisp whites, traditional yuletide hues that instantly evoke the holiday spirit. When you’re designing seasonal graphics for cards, posters, flyers, or presentation slides, try bold reds and greens to create a cheery, festive feel, and softer, more muted shades for a more refined and elegant winter aesthetic.

Christmas tree colors

You can’t go far wrong with the time-honored combination of red, green, gold, and silver for your Christmas tree. But if you’re ready for some fresh colors this year or looking to style a second tree in less traditional tones, here are some alternative color palettes to inspire you.

Warm copper brown and contemporary teal blue

Vibrant candy cane red and a bold yellow-green on a white artificial tree

Sweet gingerbread tones of brown and gold combined with a subdued red hue

Christmas colors palette

Looking for Christmas color ideas for a holiday visual? Try experimenting with one of these festive color schemes, complete with CSS color names and hex values.

Vector noel

A bold green and deep crimson red with subtle blues and browns—perfect for a vector-art-style Christmas scene.

• DarkGreen #006400
• Crimson #DC143C
• Goldenrod #DAA520
• Wheat #F5DEB3
• CadetBlue #5F9EA0
• PowderBlue #B0E0E6
• Snow #FFFAFA
• SaddleBrown #8B4513

Evening yule glow

A muted green and reddish brown with pale tones of blue for a soft Christmas dusk aesthetic.

• SlateGray #525570
• RosyBrown #70525a
• MidnightBlue #111737
• Snow #f6f5f6
• DarkSlateBlue #2b334f
• LightSlateGray #9b95a4
• DarkOliveGreen #556B2F
• LightSteelBlue #b3b4c6

Snowy landscape

A subdued red and green with complementary earthy brown and white to capture the charm of snowfall over rustic winter scenery.

• Gainsboro #DCDCDC
• IndianRed #CD5C5C
• DimGray #696969
• Wheat #F5DEB3
• DarkKhaki #BDB76B
• Tan #D2B48C
• LightSlateGray #778899
• DarkSlateGray #2F4F4F

Vintage Christmas

Give your yuletide graphics an old-timey feel by pairing a warm red and olive green with gold and khaki tones.

• PaleGoldenRod #EEE8AA
• FireBrick #B22222
• DarkOliveGreen #556B2F
• Sienna #A0522D
• SaddleBrown #8B4513
• Black #000000
• Gray #808080
• DarkKhaki #BDB76B

Frequently asked questions about Christmas colors

Why is Santa red and white?

One of the main origins of the figure of Santa Claus is folklore relating to the 4th-century Christian bishop Saint Nicholas, who was depicted in red bishop’s robes with white bands in some traditions.

Santa was shown in various colors throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries until Coca-Cola’s 1930s holiday advertising popularized images of Santa in a bright red suit with white trim.

If you’re designing a seasonal flyer, use QuillBot’s free AI flyer generator to help visualize your ideas in Christmas colors.

What are the 12 colors of Christmas?

If you need to create a palette for 12 colors of Christmas, start with a red, green, and white that work well together. Other popular Christmas colors you can choose from to make up the remaining hues of your palette include silver, gold, purple, and dark blue

If you’re creating a seasonal poster, use QuillBot’s free AI poster generator to help visualize your ideas.

What are good Christmas light colors?

Classic Christmas light colors comprise a palette of red, green, blue, and yellow, often with the addition of purple or orange—bright, cheerful hues that instantly create a glowing festive atmosphere.

Create mockups of your Christmas decoration ideas using QuillBot’s free AI image generator.