Chalking the door is one of the Christian
Epiphanytide
The Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide or the time of Sundays After Epiphany, is a liturgical period, celebrated by many Christian Churches, which immediately follows the Christmas season. It begins on Epiphany Day, and ends at variou ...
traditions used to
bless
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Etymology and Germanic paganism
The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
one's home.
Epiphany
Either on
Twelfth Night
''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...
(5 January), the
twelfth day of
Christmastide
Christmastide is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. In some, Christmastide is identical to Twelvetide.
For the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church and Methodist Church, Christmastide begins on 24 December ...
and eve of the feast of the Epiphany, or on
Epiphany Day
Epiphany ( ), also known as Theophany in Eastern Christian traditions, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation ( theophany) of God incarnate as Jesus Christ.
In Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but no ...
(6 January) itself, many Christians (including
Anglicans
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
,
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
,
Methodists,
Presbyterians
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, among others) write on their doors or
lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...
s with
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...
in a pattern such as "20 ✝ C ✝ M ✝ B ✝ ". The numbers in this example refer to the calendar year and the
crosses
Crosses may refer to:
* Cross, the symbol
Geography
* Crosses, Cher, a French municipality
* Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas
Language
* Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...
to
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. The letters C, M, and B stand for the traditional names of the
Magi
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
(
Caspar
Caspar is a masculine given name. It may refer to:
People
* Caspar (magus), a name traditionally given to one of the Three Magi in the Bible who brought the baby Jesus gifts
*Caspar Austa (born 1982), Estonian cyclist
*Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904) ...
,
Melchior
Melchior is the name traditionally given to one of the biblical Magi appearing in the Gospel of Matthew. There are many notable people with this name, or close variations.
As a first name
* Melchior Anderegg (1828–1914), Swiss mountain guide
* ...
and
Balthazar), or alternatively for the Latin
blessing
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Etymology and Germanic paganism
The modern English language term ''bless'' likely ...
('May Christ bless this house'). Another form, for Three Kings day, is to mark the door with "IIIK" (the Roman numeral three followed by "K" for "Kings").
Chalking the door is done most commonly on Epiphany Day itself. However, it can be done on any day of the
Epiphany season
The Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide or the time of Sundays After Epiphany, is a liturgical period, celebrated by many Christian Churches, which immediately follows the Christmas season. It begins on Epiphany Day, and ends at various ...
. 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.
The Christian custom of chalking the door has a biblical precedent as the
Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
marked their doors in order to be saved from death; likewise, the Epiphanytide practice serves to protect Christian homes from
evil spirits
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...
until the next Epiphany Day, at which time the custom is repeated.
Families also perform this act to represent the hospitality of the
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on, but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first ...
to the Magi (and all
Gentile
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
s); it thus serves as a
house blessing
House blessings (also known as house healings, house clearings, house cleansings and space clearing) are rites intended to protect the inhabitants of a house or apartment from misfortune, whether before moving into it or to "heal" it after an occur ...
to invite the presence of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
in one's home.
In 20th century Poland, the practice of chalking the door continued among believers as a way of asserting their Christian identity, despite the Eastern Bloc's
state atheism
State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically li ...
and
antireligious campaigns.
Gallery: Epiphany season door chalking
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
Welling is an area of South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, west of Bexleyheath, southeast of Woolwich and of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent.
...
, London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
File:Sexten Schmiedenstraße 20 008 2019 09 26.jpg, Epiphany door chalking in Sexten
Sexten (; it, Sesto ) is a ''comune'' in South Tyrol in northern Italy. The village is famous as a summer and winter sport resort in the mountains.
According to the 2011 census, 95.37% of the population speak German, 4.36% Italian and 0.27% Ladin ...
, Italy
File:Bonifatiuskirche HD Eingang Februar 2012.JPG, Epiphany door chalking in Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Germany
File:001 2013 09 15 Eingaenge und Tueren.jpg, Epiphany door chalking in Mittelberg
Mittelberg is a municipality in the district of Bregenz in the Kleinwalsertal,in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is accessible by road only from Germany.
Geography
The town of Mittelberg lies in the Kleinwalsertal, a valley that is access ...
, Austria
Footnotes
References
External links
Epiphany Door Chalkingby Christ the King Anglican Church
An Epiphany Blessing of Homes and Chalking the Doorby
Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church Chalking the Door: An Epiphany House Blessing 2016 by the Roman Catholic
Order of Carmelites
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
{{Epiphany, state=expanded
Christmastide
Epiphany (holiday)
Chalk
Religious rituals