chalking the door

Either on Twelfth Night (5 January), the twelfth day of Christmastide and eve of the feast of the Epiphany, or on Epiphany Day (6 January) itself, many Christians (including Anglicans, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics, among others) write on their doors or lintels with chalk in a pattern such as "{{YEARCC|{{YEAR}}}} ✝ C ✝ M ✝ B ✝ {{YEARYY|{{YEAR}}}}". The numbers in this example refer to the calendar year {{YEAR}} and the crosses to Christ. The letters C, M, and B stand for the traditional names of the biblical Magi (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar), or alternatively for the Latin blessing {{lang|la|Christus mansionem benedicat}} ('May Christ bless this house'),{{Cite web|url=https://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/159118.pdf|title=Distinctive Traditions of Epiphany|date=2011|publisher=Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University|language=English|access-date=6 February 2016|last=Essick|first=Amber|last2=Essick|first2=John Inscore}} or IIIK referring to the three kings {{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}.

Chalking the door is done most commonly on Epiphany Day itself. However, it may be done on any day within the Epiphany season.{{cite web |title=An Epiphany Blessing of Homes and Chalking the Door |url=https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/an-epiphany-blessing-of-homes-and-chalking-the-door |website=Discipleship Ministries |date=May 7, 2007}} In some localities, the chalk used to write the Epiphanytide pattern is blessed by a Christian priest or minister on Epiphany Day, then taken home to write the pattern.{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |year=1988 |publisher=Grolier|language=English |isbn=9780717201198 |page=512}}

The Christian custom of chalking the door has a biblical precedent as the Israelites in the Old Testament marked their doors in order to be saved from death; likewise, the Epiphanytide practice serves to protect Christian homes from evil spirits until the next Epiphany Day, at which time the custom is repeated.{{cite book|last=Pennick|first=Nigel |title=Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition: Customs, Rites, and Ceremonies|date=21 May 2015|publisher=Inner Traditions – Bear & Company|language=English}} Families also perform this act to represent the hospitality of the Holy Family to the Magi (and all Gentiles); it thus serves as a house blessing to invite the presence of God in one's home.{{cite book |last=Mazar |first=Peter |year=2015 |title=To Crown the Year: Decorating the Church through the Seasons |edition=Second |publisher=Liturgy Training Publications |language=English |isbn=9781616711894 |page=241}}{{efn|The blessing of homes, on whose lintels are inscribed the Cross of salvation, together with the indication of the year and the initials of the three wise men (C+M+B), which can also be interpreted to mean {{lang|la|Christus mansionem benedicat}}, written in blessed chalk.

:

This custom, often accompanied by processions of children accompanied by their parents, expresses the blessing of Christ through the intercession of the three wise men and is an occasion for gathering offerings for charitable and missionary purposes.{{cite web | title = Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy | date = December 2001 |department=Principles and Guidelines | publisher = Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments | language = English | location = Vatican City | url = https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020513_vers-direttorio_en.html | access-date = 3 January 2020}}}}

In 20th century Poland, the practice of chalking the door continued among believers as another way of asserting their Christian identity, despite the Eastern Bloc's state atheism and anti-religious campaigns.{{cite web |last1=Klimakin |first1=Eugeniusz |date=6 January 2017 |title=Why do Poles write K+M+B on their doors? |publisher=Culture.pl |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/why-do-poles-write-kmb-on-their-doors |access-date=4 January 2022 |language=English}}

File:Chalked door for Epiphany.jpg|Epiphany season door chalking on an apartment door in Germany

File:Epiphany Season door chalking.jpg|Epiphany season door chalking on an apartment door in the Midwestern US

File:C+M+B 2009 an der Tür der Villa Reepschlägerbahn 30, Bild 001.JPG|Epiphany season door chalking at the Villa Reepschlägerbahn in Germany

File:"Christ Bless This House" Chalk Marking on the West Face of the Church of St Michael, Welling.jpg|Epiphany door chalking at the Anglican Church of St Michael in Welling, London

File:Sexten Schmiedenstraße 20 008 2019 09 26.jpg|Epiphany door chalking in Sexten, Italy

File:Bonifatiuskirche HD Eingang Februar 2012.JPG|Epiphany door chalking in Heidelberg, Germany

File:001 2013 09 15 Eingaenge und Tueren.jpg|Epiphany door chalking in Mittelberg, Austria

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|25em}}

{{Portal|Christianity}}

• [http://www.ckrec.org/epiphany-door-chalking/ Epiphany Door Chalking] by Christ the King Anglican Church
• [https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A7oTUcdPn/ The Chalking of the Doors, Explanative Graphic] by St Andrew's Episcopal Church
• [http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/an-epiphany-blessing-of-homes-and-chalking-the-door An Epiphany Blessing of Homes and Chalking the Door] by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church
• [http://www.carmelites.net/news/chalking-door-epiphany-house-blessing-2015/ Chalking the Door: An Epiphany House Blessing 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222234033/http://www.carmelites.net/news/chalking-door-epiphany-house-blessing-2015/ |date=2017-12-22 }} by the Roman Catholic Order of Carmelites

{{Epiphany|state=expanded}}

{{Catholic protection}}

{{Nativity of Jesus}}

{{Christmas}}

Category:Christmastide

Category:Epiphany (holiday)

Category:Chalk

Category:Religious rituals

Category:Sacramentals