Also called Epiphany house blessing, 20+C+M+B, Christus mansionem benedicat, Dreikönigssegen, K+M+B
An Epiphany custom in which Christians write the year, crosses and the letters C, M and B in chalk above the front door. The letters stand for the Magi Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar and for the Latin blessing Christus mansionem benedicat, May Christ bless this house.
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Take care: Use ordinary chalk, test it on a hidden spot of painted wood first, and work from a steady step stool. If you rent, ask before marking the door frame, or write the blessing on a card fixed above the door.
Between late December and 6 January, children dressed as the three kings carry a star from house to house, sing, collect money for children's charities, and chalk the blessing above each door. The custom grew out of medieval church plays about the Magi.
Uses: Star on a pole, Crowns and robes, Blessed chalk
Polish families write K+M+B, from the Polish spellings of the kings' names, with the year on their doors on Epiphany, often with chalk blessed at Mass. Under Communist state atheism, chalked doors were a quiet sign of Christian identity.
Uses: Blessed chalk
Many Protestant churches in the US and UK have taken up the custom, handing out chalk and a printed house blessing at Epiphany services so families can bless their homes and welcome guests as the Holy Family welcomed the Magi.
Uses: Chalk, Printed blessing
Chalking the door began in medieval Europe as part of Epiphany house blessings, when a priest visited homes with holy water and incense and marked the door. The letters C, M and B are the traditional initials of the Magi, names that appear in western tradition from the 6th century onward, and they also spell the Latin blessing Christus mansionem benedicat. The crosses stand for Christ, and the year places the blessing in time until the next Epiphany.
Christians compare it to the Israelites marking their doors at the first Passover, and see it as a sign of welcome like the Holy Family's welcome to the Magi. The custom stayed strong in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland, where star singers chalk doors as they go, and in Communist Poland it became a sign of faith. In recent decades it has spread among Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists in North America and Britain.
The night of 5 December in the Alpine countries, when Saint Nicholas brings gifts to good children and his horned companion Krampus threatens the naughty with birch switches. Masked Krampus and Perchten runs are also said to chase off the dark spirits of winter.
A five-by-five Latin word square that reads the same in every direction, written on walls, plates and paper for nearly two thousand years against fire, illness and bewitchment.
A used iron horseshoe nailed above a doorway to bring luck into the house and keep the Devil, witches and fairies out.
Tell us what you need and we will craft a custom spell, charm or reading for it. Or call to book a reading or a road blessing in person.
