Why is everything purple during Advent? Historically, purple has been amongst the rarest of colors. In the ancient world, the only way to produce purple dye was through a specific type of snail in a small region of the Levant. Thousands of these snails would be needed to produce even a small amount of purple dye. This, of course, made purple cloth extremely expensive, so only royalty could afford it. This is why the Romans dressed Jesus in a purple robe, to mock him as “King of the Jews”. Purple