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Chalking the door is a Christian Epiphanytide tradition used to bless one's home.<ref name="EB1911">{{#if: |
|{{#ifeq: Chalking the Door | |{{#ifeq: | |public domain: }}{{#invoke:template wrapper|{{#if:|list|wrap}}|_template=cite EB1911 |_exclude=footnote, inline, noicon, no-icon, noprescript, no-prescript, _debug| }} | }} }}{{#ifeq: | |{{#ifeq: y | |This article |One or more of the preceding sentences }} incorporates text from a publication now in the
| noicon=1 }}{{#ifeq: ||}}</ref> It is normatively in the pattern of four crosses positioned in between the traditional initials of the three wise men, which are surrounded by the first two and last two digits of the current year (e.g. Template:YEARCC ✝ C ✝ M ✝ B ✝ Template:YEARYY).<ref name="Hokana2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The practice of chalking the door originated in medieval Europe, though it has spread throughout worldwide Christendom.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EpiphanyEdit
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 "Template:YEARCC ✝ C ✝ M ✝ B ✝ Template:YEARYY". The numbers in this example refer to the calendar year Template: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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('May Christ bless this house'),<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or IIIK referring to the three kings Template:Citation needed.
Chalking the door is done most commonly on Epiphany Day itself. However, it may be done on any day within the Epiphany season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Incorporated1988">Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="Mazar2015">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Efn
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.<ref name="Klimakin2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
GalleryEdit
- Chalked door for Epiphany.jpg
Epiphany season door chalking on an apartment door in Germany
- Epiphany Season door chalking.jpg
Epiphany season door chalking on an apartment door in the Midwestern US
- C+M+B 2009 an der Tür der Villa Reepschlägerbahn 30, Bild 001.JPG
Epiphany season door chalking at the Villa Reepschlägerbahn in Germany
- Sexten Schmiedenstraße 20 008 2019 09 26.jpg
Epiphany door chalking in Sexten, Italy
- Bonifatiuskirche HD Eingang Februar 2012.JPG
Epiphany door chalking in Heidelberg, Germany
- 001 2013 09 15 Eingaenge und Tueren.jpg
Epiphany door chalking in Mittelberg, Austria
FootnotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Epiphany Door Chalking by Christ the King Anglican Church
- The Chalking of the Doors, Explanative Graphic by St Andrew's Episcopal Church
- An Epiphany Blessing of Homes and Chalking the Door by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church
- Chalking the Door: An Epiphany House Blessing 2016 Template:Webarchive by the Roman Catholic Order of Carmelites
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