Chalking the door

This article is about the Christian religious practice. For the Scottish legal practice, see Chalking the door (eviction).
Epiphany season door chalking on an apartment door in Germany
A Christmas wreath adorning a home, with the top left-hand corner of the front door chalked for Epiphany-tide and the wreath hanger bearing a placard of the archangel Gabriel

Chalking the door is a Christian Epiphanytide tradition used to bless one's home,[1] which originated in medieval Europe. [2]

  1. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chalking the Door". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 807.
  2. ^ "A Catholic Dictionary". The Macmillan Company. 1958.