We usually use the word “decorate” to mean balloons and streamers and other colorful materials that create a mood of festivity at parties. Liturgical decorations also are used to foster a mood, sometimes of festivity and other times of penitence or anticipation, but always of dignity and hospitality.
The word "decorate" can suggest materials that are cheap. Worse, the word suggests stuff that is nonessential, merely added for the fun of it … "decorations" is used often, despite the troublesome association. It's too good a word to abandon. "Decorations" (and the related words "decorum" and "decorous") can mean "appropriate honor." That’s what the Latin decorus means: "seemly," "decent," fit for its purpose." Decoration is used to make a place fit for the liturgy.
- The liturgy is where we begin when thinking about special decorations. [Pg. 2] AND To Crown the Year: Decorating the Church Through the Seasons [Peter Mazar, LTP: Chicago, IL] 1995