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What Is “Chalking the Door”?

It’s a specific blessing for the home that is traditionally done each year on the Solemnity of the Epiphany (also known as 3 Kings Day or Twelfth Night).   It takes place at the main entrance of the home and uses symbols drawn with blessed chalk.  This is called “chalking the door” and is practiced by many Christians including Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and more!

This short ritual is a way of marking our homes as we ask God’s blessing upon those who live, work, or visit throughout the coming year.  We recall the Israelites in Exodus 12:1-13 marking their doors with blood so that the Lord would pass over their homes, but we mark our doors with chalk as a sign that we have invited God’s presence and blessing into our homes.

In Deuteronomy 6:9 God tells the people of Israel: “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house… You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Chalking the door is a tangible way to honor God in our lives.

The formula for the ritual is simple. Use chalk that was blessed at the Epiphany Mass and write the following above the entrance of your home:  20 + C + M + B + 23. 

The letters have two meanings. First, they represent the initials of the Magi — Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar — who came to visit Jesus in His first home. They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat: “May Christ bless this dwelling.”  The “+” signs represent the cross, and the “20” at the beginning and the “23” at the end mark the year. Taken together, this inscription is a request for Christ to bless those homes so marked and that He remains with those who dwell therein throughout the entire year.

Practicing traditions, like the chalking of the doors, help us to live our faith more concretely and serve as an outward sign of our dedication to Our Lord. Seeing the symbols over our doors can help to remind us while passing in and out on our daily routines, that our homes and all those who dwell there belong to Christ. It also serves as a reminder of the welcoming the Magi gave to Jesus. We should strive to be as welcoming to all who come to our homes to visit us!

Visit www.usccb.org/prayers/blessing-home-and-household-epiphany for a suggested ritual blessing that includes scripture and intercessory prayers. No clergy is required.